Kingdom Hearts III: Another Keyblade Master
by J0hnny0hm
Summary: Sora is joined on his journey by another boy who wields a Keyblade. But the boy harbors a dark secret unknown to all...even himself.
1. New Arrival and Departure

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything in this story other than the few elements that I incorporated.

* * *

Sora, Riku, and Kairi silently read the letter from Mickey.

_Hey guys,  
Sorry to be botherin' ya again right after ya got home, but we'll soon have a very big problem on our hands. Maleficent and Pete have succeeded in claiming the castle of Organization XIII. She now has control over the Nobodies AND the Heartless and they may be tryin' to find some way to combine their power. They're definitely lookin' for revenge on all of us now.  
I'm thinkin' for this round, we'll need all the help we can get._

_For this reason, we're going to need the Princesses of Heart again. They're the only ones that can hold back Maleficent's strength enough for us to be able to take 'em. Me, Donald, and Goofy have managed to bring most of them here already. Belle and Jasmine are the only two that we need you to retrieve. I'll send ships soon to take you to your destinations.  
Kairi and Riku will take one ship to my Castle. We need their help guarding the princesses at the castle._

_One more thing; I have found a wayward boy with special talents and abilities. I'll be sending him to help you, Sora._

_Thanks guys,  
Mickey_

Sora sighed. "Again? I just got home!"

"C'mon, Sora," Riku said "You probably realized that Xemnas wouldn't be the end of this mess."

"But they need the Princesses? You're hopeless without us, Sora!" Kairi said.

Sora jumped. "Hey!"

Riku snickered. "No offense, but where would you be without us?"

Sora realized that if it weren't for his friends, he wouldn't have ever gone where he'd been able to go and meet the people he met. He had a lot of friends out there in other worlds because of his adventures.

Sora just sighed in defeat.

Kairi crossed her arms. "See what I mean?"

Sora looked up. "Okay, I get it. But the Princesses probably need all the protection they can get. That's why the King needs Riku. Besides, I'll be fine. Mickey's sending that guy he mentioned in the letter to help me."

"Oh sure, don't worry. You're in good hands traveling with the new guy." Riku said sarcastically.

Kairi crossed her arms with an angry look. "I thought we'd be together every day, Sora. Remember?"

Sora winced. He remembered all too well what he had said to Kairi right before Roxas and Namine had fused back into them.

* * *

_"We'll be together every day, right Sora?"  
_

_"Uh, yeah!"_

* * *

Sora looked down solemnly. He didn't want to leave Kairi anymore that she wanted to leave him, but he knew it was necessary.

Trying to convince her, Sora went on. "Don't worry about me Kairi. Me and the new guy will be sure to check in every now and then."

Kairi started looking more hopeful. "Really?"

Sora grinned. "Really."

"Really, really?"

"Really, really."

"Really?"

With each "really", Kairi bent closer and Sora bent backwards until he was leaning at a ninety-degree angle with Kairi in his face.

Kairi looked puzzled. "Wow, Sora. I didn't know you could bend back that far."

Sora got a bragging opportunity. "I know, isn't that-what?"

He waved his arms for a second, and then fell flat on his back. Riku and Kairi rolled around with laughter. Then Sora heard a distant roaring sound. "Is that a plane?"  
They look towards the sky to see lights headed straight for the beach.

Two Gummi ships hovered several feet above the water, starting to power down. Then there was a sudden shutoff in both ships and they both dropped straight down into the water, spreading a wave of water over the heads of Sora, Riku, and Kairi.

Quickly shaking the water out of their hair, they watched as the door slowly opened, and somebody fell out the door into the water. It was a tall teenager with dark brown hair and a dark blue sleeveless shirt. He quickly stood up and got out of the water and shook his hair free of water. "I do not get paid enough for this job….wait a second; I don't get paid at all…..crap."

Unnoticed by the boy, Sora visibly gulped. This was the "new guy"?...Well, he had a good run, right?

The guy walked over, still dizzy, and waved. "Hey guys, how's it going?" Then he collapsed into the water again.

Riku slid his palm across his face. "It was nice knowing you, Sora."

The guy stood up yet again. "Anyways, my name is Steven and I will be transportation and assistant in heroics to….uh," he paused, looking at his hand. His eyes grew wide when he found out what _wasn't_ on it. He looked up nervously and chuckled. "I don't really know any of your names. They faded off of my hand."

Despite his current state of fear for his life, Sora managed a small chuckle and shook Steven's hand. "I'm Sora."

Steven snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah! You're the 'head of heroics', right?" He returned the handshake. "Nice to meet you."

Riku and Kairi went through similar introductions with Steven, who continued on about his job. "Yes, it is my job to help the Keyblade bearer on his quest to save the universe for the…..third time, I think? I promise you, I'm up to the task. I am a master of kung-fu and karate!"

He did some bogus kung-fu moves with loud, unnecessary fighting sounds. "Ta-da!"

Silence….the only sound heard was the breeze and the occasional seagull. Steven drooped his shoulders and sighed. "Okay, fine. No more tricks." He held up his hand and a flash of light formed in it.

The others gasped. They couldn't believe their eyes. "A Keyblade?"

True enough, Steven held a Keyblade in his hand. This one was a shiny obsidian, but it resembled the Kingdom Key perfectly. "This was one of the main reasons that the King had me come along. He feels I could learn from Sora, then break off on my own to protect the worlds, maybe make Sora's job a little easier."

Sora pondered this. "Wow, that's not a bad idea. Well, let's get going then!"

Before leaving, Sora met Kairi's glance, and all of a sudden, he got a weird feeling inside. He'd had it before, but it was stronger this time. Kairi seemed to feel it too. They leaned in a bit, slowly, but surely, feeling that there was something that was inevitable going to-

"Sora!" Steven called.

Both Sora and Kairi lurched when Steven yelled. Sora turned around. "Ah! What?"

"Let's go!"

As Sora walked off, Kairi shook off a confusing feeling. She boarded and couldn't stop thinking: What was that? Shrugging it off, she waved. "Bye guys!"

Riku and Kairi headed for their Gummi ship, nervously keeping an eye on Steven as he walked to his. Steven quickly noticed this and just laughed. "Don't worry, guys! I'll bring him back to you in one piece!" He continued to walk and failed to notice the hanging rail, proceeding to slam his head into it, dropping into the water for a third time, only to get up again. "I'm okay!"

He quickly boarded into the Gummi ship and slammed the door. Seconds later, the engines ignited and, with no disastrous occurrences this time, blasted away from the beach for parts known and unknown.

Kairi lowered her hand after waving good-bye. "I hope Sora will be okay."

Riku shook his head. "Sora will be fine. Right now, I'm worried about the new guy. He's a klutz!" He chuckled a bit. "No idea why King Mickey picked _Sora_ to teach him about defending the worlds."

And with that, they headed off of Destiny Islands for another adventure. This one was to become more messed up that anything they'd seen already. (and that's a lot of crazy stuff, people)

* * *

**THANK YOU FOR GIVING MY STORY A CHANCE! PLEASE REVIEW, AS I HIGHLY APPRECIATE CRITIQUE.**


	2. Ant Island

Sora sat silently in the Gummi Ship while Steven piloted. He really had no clue as to what he wanted to say to him. He was very curious about Steven's story, but he wasn't really sure it was wise to ask. What if something really horrible had happened that had landed Steven in this situation?

He pondered this for a bit and shook his head. How could that be? Steven had seemed really eager and happy to help out. "So Steven, how did you meet King Mickey?"

Steven flicked the autopilot switch on the dashboard of the ship and turned around. "Well, I was just traveling around, minding my own business. I remember waking up in a huge garden. I walked around, finding out that it led into a huge building with really nice carpets and a lot of paintings."

Sora quickly figured it out. "Disney Castle."

Steven nodded. "Right. Anyways, I knew something was up when I saw brooms and mop buckets walking around by themselves. Then I turned a corner and bumped into, get this: a walking, talking duck. He seemed pretty angry when he found me and before I could say anything, I was running around trying to avoid being zapped by electricity."

Sora chuckled. "Yeah, Donald can get pretty angry sometimes."

Steven laughed. "Yeah….."

**FLASHBACK**

_ZAP._ Steven jumped up as another bolt of lightning singed the red carpet behind him. A large duck wearing a blue shirt and cap was jumping up and down several feet behind him, waving his magic staff as he did. "Get back here, intruder!"

Steven continued running. "Leave me alone, duck! I didn't break in, I woke up here! Cut me some-"

A bolt electrified him. It threw him off balance and he stumbled to the ground. As the duck ran closer, he held his hand in front of his face as if it would save him. He closed his eyes.

Suddenly, he heard the duck skid to a halt. At the same time, he felt his own hand closing around something. Opening his eyes, he saw the strangest thing he'd seen since he ran into the talking duck magician. A large key was nested in his hand. It had a shiny, obsidian color with a small orb of the same tint dangling on a chain from the handle. "What is this thing?" He looked up at the duck to see it staring with shock and awe. "Uh, you okay?

**END OF FLASHBACK.**

"And after that, he introduced me to everybody. King Mickey filled me in on the details of what's been happening these last couple of years. I know all about your 'saving the universe' deal. That's when he presented this little apprentice idea."

"Apprentice?" Sora laughed.

"Makes sense no matter how you put it," Steven replied.

Sora smiled. "Wow, that's pretty cool. So how're you and Donald dealing with each other after that experience?"

Steven blinked in confusion. "Donald?"

"The duck," explained Sora.

Steven's grin disappeared. "Uh….well, you see…." He quickly changed the subject when the light on the dashboard blinked. "Hey! First world approaching!" He typed in a few things on a keyboard. "The King installed some new components that tell us a bit about the world that we're headed to."

Sora walked up to the dashboard and looked at the screen. "It looks like the world is called 'Ant Island'." Sora paused to re-read it to make sure he wasn't going crazy. "Seriously? We're going to a world with a bunch of bugs?"

Steven shrugged. "Look on the bright side. We squish them all. Then we leave. Easy first mission, eh?" He pressed a few more keys and he and Sora disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

In another flash of light, they arrived in a place that was covered in rocks and grass. This was expected, seeing how it was inhabited by bugs. But something wasn't right. The rocks were about much larger than normal and the grass was _enormous_! The duo looked around. They rubbed their heads in confusion. They tugged on their antennae-

Wait a second. Antennae?!? He and Sora turned to each other and yelled loudly. "WE'RE BUGS!" True enough, they had transformed into navy-blue ants with round shaped abdomens and feelers poking through their hair. They maintained their original number of limbs though.

"Oh, come on! This mission was supposed to be easy!" Steven complained. He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, looks like we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way." He summoned his Keyblade. "This should be fun. CHARGE!" Sora quickly grabbed Steven's arm as he began to run. "Hold on!"

Steven shrugged. "Alright, you're the leader. _You_ can yell 'charge'."

Sora shook his head. "No, I'm not going to yell 'charge'."

"Then why did you stop me?"

Sora explained. "We're trying to save the world. Saving the world doesn't have anything to do with charging in blindly or trying to kill everybody."

Steven crossed his arms. "Well what do we do then? _You're_ the expert here!"

Sora started walking away. "We have to find out the problem that's going on in this world and fix it."

Steven slowly followed, disappointed that he was already being refrained from killing something. "We get to fight at some point, right?"

Sora sighed. "If there's Heartless here, kill as many as you want."

Steven whooped silently.

They walked into a clearing and stopped in their tracks. There was a massive line of ants, very similar looking to them. Even they had only four limbs instead of six. They were carrying grain, berries (one ant carried an entire bushel with his whole body) and other such foods to a leaf on a stone.

A shadow passed over the surface. A leaf was slowly drifting to the ground. It landed…right in front of a trembling ant. The ant immediately panicked. "I'm lost! Where's the line? It just went away!"

Ants behind him bumped into each other and the panic spread.

"What do we do?"

"Help!"

"We'll be stuck here forever!"

An ant of authority ran towards the line, followed by a shorter female ant with a small, pink flower bud in her arms. "Don't panic! We're trained professionals and I say that we're going around the leaf."

The first ant that panicked grew nervous. "A-Around the leaf?!? I-I don't think we can do that."

The other ant just scoffed. "Oh, come on. This is nothing. You remember the twig of '93? I was there!"

Steven let out a loud sigh. He walked over to the leaf. He was smaller as an ant, but being an ant allowed him to pick up things several times his size. With that, he quickly grabbed the leaf and ran off with it, clearing the gap. "There you go. Problem solved. But if this happens again, walk over the leaf. It won't bite."

The other ants looked at him in shock for several seconds before dropping their food and letting out much cheer and applause. Steven held his hands in the air in modesty. "No, stop. Really, it wasn't hard." But he was enjoying this. He was enjoying it very much. Soon, the line continued. Granted, a small gap was in it, but it was moving.

The ant of authority walked up to Steven. "I must say, that was quite impressive. Much more effective than walking _around_ the leaf. I shall to be sure to reference this story when training more harvesters." He chuckled. "Do forgive me, but I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I am Mr. Soil, head of the colony, second only to the queen. And this is Dr. Flora, our medical expert."

The female ant nodded. "Pleased to meet ya, boys." Sora nodded in return. "I'm Sora. And this is my sideki-"

Steven grumbled when he heard the beginning of that word. Sora quickly rephrased himself. "Uh, I mean my friend Steven. We just arrived here."

The two Keybladers shook hands with Dr. Flora and Mr. Soil. "Well, I believe we must inform the queen immediately." He led them towards a small hill.

There was a female ant with a small crown. Her feelers curved into a swirl. She was pacing back and forth. She seemed worried. "Oh no. No, no, no. The wind's died down. They'll be here soon."

Right behind her was an older ant that was clearly the queen. She had a crown with pink flower petals curving out of it and held a green aphid in her arms. "You'll do fine, dear. Just be confident." She turned her gaze and saw Mr. Soil walking up with Dr. Flora. "What is it, Mr. Soil?"

"Pardon me, Your Majesty," said Mr. Soil. "But I felt it necessary that you are aware of two new ants among our colony." Sora and Steven stepped up from behind him. "This is Sora and Steven."

The queen nodded. "Happy to meet you, boys."

Sora sank into a bow. "It's our pleasure, Your Highness." Steven stayed standing, confused. Sora subtly punched him in the shin, lowering him to the ground. Though he was in pain, it was passable for a bow.

The queen chuckled. "Well, seeing how you're new, I guess I better fill you in on what we have going on here." She directed their attention over to the rock platform that supported a leaf with a humongous pile of grain, berries, and other such food items. "Right now, we're picking food for The Offering"

"The Offering?" said a puzzled Steven.

The Queen explained. "There's a colony of grasshoppers with which we trade food for protection from bigger bugs."

Sora eyed the pile of food with a suspicious look. "That's a lot of food."

The Queen sighed. "I know. It's very risky, but good protection ain't cheap."

Steven eyed the pile of food. "A large pile of food, a single berry about half the size of my current body…….divide the food equally among the colony and ourselves, me and Sora would protect you guys."

Sora nodded. "We'd probably offer protection anyways."

Steven's gaze was suddenly averted to the female ant with a small crown, now noticing that she donned a pair of wings on the back of her violet body. "By the way, who's that girl?"

The Queen turned her gaze. "Oh, that's my daughter Atta. She is next in line to be queen and I'm training her to take over for me. So far, it's not going to well."

Atta screamed all of a sudden. "Ah! There's a gap! There's a gap in the line!"

Sora raised his eyebrow at her over-reaction. "I see what you mean."

The queen shook her head and walked over to Atta. "Relax, honey. Gaps happen all the time. It's only a few inches."

Atta took a few deep breaths. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mom. I'm fine."

The queen raised an eyebrow. "Then what do we know next?"

Atta opened her mouth to try and answer. "Ah…Oh! Don't tell me. I know it!" She started smacking her head and speaking in a strained voice. "What is it???"

The queen put her arm around Atta's shoulders. "Again, Atta; we relax! I want you to meet the newest members of our colony." On cue, Steven and Sora walked over to their area. "Atta, this is Sora and Steven."

"Nice to meet you," she said as she shook their hands. "I'm Princess Atta."

The queen began walking with Atta down the hill. "Just don't worry about it, honey. It's the same year after year. They come, they eat, and they leave! Sure it's scary, but we'd all be bored otherwise!" She laughed quite loudly, settting down her pet aphid to clutch her sides from laughter.

The aphid felt the rock below him depress. He jumped off right before the ground collapsed. Two boy ants crawled out of the hole. They yelled. "Ditch Dot!"

A small, pink-colored female ant with a tiny pair of wings crawled out right after. "Get back here!" She groaned as she tried to flap two tiny wings on her back. She hovered for a second or two, but then just flipped and landed on her abdomen.

"Dot!" yelled a ticked off queen.

The small girl ant rolled her eyes. "Yes, mother?"

The queen put her hands on her hips. "What did I tell you about trying to fly?"

Dot continued in a monotone. "Not until my wings grow in." She stood up and began whining. "But Mom-"

Atta interjected. "Dot, you're a young queen ant, and your wings are too little-"

Dot turned angrily towards her sister. "I was talking to Mother! You're not the queen yet, Atta!"

The queen patted Dot. "Now Dot, be nice to your sister."

Dot shrugged her shoulders. "It's not _my_ fault she's so stresssed out."

Atta sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry. It's a lot of work and a lot of pressure. I always feel like the sky is falling."

A voice cried from the distance. "Look out!"

A stalk of grain fell out of nowhere and landed on Atta. Several concerned ants quickly rushed to aid the fallen princess.

Steven stared for a second. "That was ironic."

* * *

An ant wearing a strange contraption is cutting down a stalk of grain. He grabs hold of it with two sticks. A jagged wheel cuts at the stalk, scattering pieces all over. After it cut through, he moved it through a sorting mechanism that dropped the grain, one by one, into a small trunk made of leaves in the back. After all the grain had been extracted, he pulled the lever and catapulted the empty stalk away.

* * *

Sora quickly lifted up the stalk off of Atta and offered her his hand. "You alright?" Atta grinned and took his hand. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." Sora pulled her up. "No problem."

Suddenly, another stalk landed on top of the princess. Unfortunately, Sora was standing in the same spot and received the same treatment.

Steven stood barely a millimeter away from that spot. "Whew! That was close."

_SPLAT._ Another stalk crashed down upon Steven. He groaned in pain. "Aw, dang....."

Dr. Flora yelled towards the grass forest from which the stalks had flown. "Hey, stop it! You might've killed someone over here!"

Another distant voice, getting closer, began reaching everyone's ears. "Oh dang, I'm really sorry! Sorry!"

An elder ant, Thorny, groaned. "Flik. I should've guessed."

Another light, navy blue ant, the one named Flik, ran in quickly, still wearing the contraption he used to cut the stalk. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I'm sorry!"

The other ants finally lifted a stalk to reveal a coughing Atta. Flik gasped in response. "Princess Atta!"

The princess looked up. "Flik! What're you doing?"

Flik raised his eyebrow in confusion, then rememembered his machine. "Oh! You mean this? This is my new idea for harvesting grain! No more picking individual kernels, you can just cut down the entire stalk!"

Sora marveled at this. Despite the fact that this guy just catapulted a stalk right on top of him, this guy was pretty smart. But clearly, none of the other ants agreed. Atta sounded very irritated. "We don't have time for this, Flik!"

"Exactly!" said Flik. "We never have time to collect our own food because we spend the summer harvesting for the Offering-" He continued to talk and failed to notice Thorny and another elder, Cornelius, glaring at him. "-but my invention will speed up both production and efficiency!"

"Ugh, another invention?" grumbled Atta.

Flik nodded. "Yeah, and I got something for you too. Since you're gonna be queen soon, you might need to oversee production." Out of nowhere, he pulled out a small drop of water and a piece of grass. "Just a simple blade of grass and a bead of dew, you say? Well I call it-" He rolled up the grass and placed the water inside. "-a telescope!"

Steven peeked out from under the stalk, still trying to recover from the impact. His eyes grew wide and he grinned. This guy was a freakin' genius! "Congratulations, man!" he slurred. Then he fell back to the ground.

Flik held up the telescope, pointing the "lens" at Atta's face. "Hey there, Princess! You're looking very lovely today!" He lowered it and chuckled. "Of course, I don't need a telescope to see that."

Thorny had lost his patience by now. He walked between Atta and Flik, and started yelling. "Look pal, the princess doesn't have time for this!" He grabbed the telescope and chucked it aside. "You wanna help us with this operation? Then get rid of the machine, get in line, and pick grain like everybody else!"

"Especially get rid of that machine!" fussed Dr. Flora, kneeling by Steven. "It's very dangerous. Just look what happened to this poor boy!"

Steven pushed the stalk off of himself. Sora and Atta had no injuries, but Steven sported a couple of bruises on his new body, but he stood up very quickly. "Nah, don't worry about me, I'm-" He suddenly clutched his head, blood flowing very quickly to it from standing up so quickly. "Oh geez, head rush," and he collapsed again.

Atta slapped her palm against her forhead in frustration. "Flik, please. Just go."

Flik tried to explain. "I'm really sorry, I was just trying-"

Thorny pointed the other direction while Cornelius jerked his cane the same way. Flik's eyes lowered to the ground. "-trying to help." He began to solemnly walk away.

Cornelius humphed at him. "That boy and his inventions. Why, this colony has harvested the same way since I was a pupa!"

With the assistance of Dr. Flora, Steven finally managed to stand up again. "Seriously? Because I think that guy is on the right track. That's a quality machine he invented. And that telescope was cool too!"

Thorny grumbled. "Flik is a troublemaker."

Steven argued. "Flik is a genius! While you guys are sticking to the practices of your ancestors, he's headed for the future!"

Dr. Flora placed her hands on her hips. "Your brains are scrambled, dear. That death machine catapulted stalks right on top of you, your friend, and the princess!"

Steven shrugged. "So there's been a lack of safety guidlines. Big deal! I've taken hits and falls before. That was probably the seventh one for me today."

Dr. Flora gasped. "Seven times?" She whistled and alerted a few other medics. "We need a stretcher!" Steven quickly waved his hands in protest. "No, really! I'm fine!"

* * *

As Steven began the tiring task of outrunning the medics, Sora looked onward towards Flik. The treatment he'd put up with was very harsh. He started walking into the forest of grass. Dot also picked up the thrown-away telescope and followed as well. They hadn't walked long before they found Flik. In his slouching, he hadn't walked far. Dot called out. "Hey, Flik! Wait up!"

Flik turned to see her. "Oh, hey, Princess." He looked up and saw Sora coming right behind her. "Who're you?"

Sora held out his hand. "I'm Sora. I'm new to the colony."

Flik smiled and shook his hand. "Well Sora, welcome to Ant Island. By the way, sorry about hitting you with one of those stalks I launched."

Sora just waved it off. "It's okay."

Dot held up his telescope. "You left this back there.

"You can keep it." said Flik. "I'll just make another one."

Sora tried to cheer him up. "C'mon, Flik. Cheer up! I like your inventions."

"Yeah, me too!" said Dot.

Flik grinned a little bit. "Really? Well, you guys are the first. I'm pretty sure the other guy I hit with the stalk wouldn't agree with you."

"What, Steven?" Sora asked. "He was standing up for you after you left. He was telling them that you're living for the future while they're all stuck in the past. And he's right!"

Flik just grumbled. "I'm still starting to think that nothing I do works."

Dot held up the telescope. "_This_ works."

"Great. _One_ success." Flik sighed. "I'm never gonna make a difference."

Dot sighed. "Me neither. I'm a royal ant and I can't even fly yet! I'm too little…

Flik scoffed. "Being little isn't so bad."

"Yes it is!" Dot retorted.

Flik shook his head. "No it's not."

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!

"Is no- you know what? Here," He picked up a round object from the ground. "Pretend that this is a seed."

Dot stared skeptically at the object. "It's a rock."

FLik nodded. "I know it's a rock, but for the purpose of this, pretend it's a seed. Just bear with me." He raised his hand and pointed to the tree. "Now, do you see our tree? Everything that made that giant tree is already contained in this tiny little seed. All it needs is some time, and a little sunshine and rain and…......voila!"

"This rock will be a tree?" Dot deadpanned.

Flik kneeled down to her level. "For now, it's a seed. You gotta work with me here. Dot, you may not feel like you can do much now, but that's just because….well you're not a tree yet. You just have to give yourself some time. You're still a seed."

Moment of silence….

Dot didn't have anything else to say besides this. "But it's a rock."

Flik grabbed the rock. "I know it's a rock! Don't you think I know a rock when I see a rock? Believe me, I've spent a lot of time around rocks!"

Dot chuckled wildly. "You're weird. But I still like you."

Flik grinned, but it quickly vanished at the sound of a horn. He dropped the rock he was holding. "They're here."

Sora looked around. "Who's here?"

"The grasshoppers," said Flik in a very panicked voice. "We have to get into the anthill. C'mon!"

Dot quickly ran back towards the clearing, but Flik's machine caught onto a blade of grass, catapulting him backwards. Sora quickly ran back and helped him up and they both headed for the clearing as well.

* * *

The horn sounded throughout the entire island. Everybody stopped in their tracks. The ants carrying food, the elders, even the medics holding a stretcher with a struggling Steven, who immediately went still when he heard the horn blaring. "Well, that doesn't sound good."

The ants went into a widespread panic. The harvesters began running around like crazy and the medics dropped the stretcher. Steven quickly got off and looked around. "Sora? Where are ya, man?"

"Dot!" yelled the queen. "Dot!"

"Mom!"

Dot quickly made it through the crowd into the arms of her mother. Atta yelled to the panicked crowd. "Food to the Offering-"

It was futile. Nobody could hear her. The queen whistled quite loudly, attracting everyone's attention. "Okay everyone! Single file! Food to the offering stone and into the anthill. Go!"

The ants quickly formed the line and headed towards the stone, quickly dropping the food they had on the already-enourmous pile that they had already created.

Steven rushed to the entrance of the grassy forest. As he ran through, he bumped into something and fell backwards. "OW! What the-?" He peered through to see two ants on the other side. "Sora? Flik?"

Sora turned to see him. "Steven?"

Steven sighed in relief. "You've gotta stop doing this to me, Sora. We've barely been here ten minutes and the medics are already after me!"

Sora tilted his head in confusion. "Why?"

Steven rubbed the back of his head. "Just forget it. We gotta get into the anthill!"

He and Sora quickly ran towards the entrance, but skidded to a halt. They both eyed the pile of food. Food that was half the size of their body. They exchanged a glance. They stood still.

"You think they would mind?" Steven pondered.

Sora shrugged. "Nah, it's okay. What's a couple of berries, right?"

With that, they rushed as fast as they could for the pile of food. Unbeknownst to them, Flik was headed straight for the pile. "Hey! Wait for me!" He breathed heavily, running under the weight of his machine. "Get the food to the Offering stone and into the anthill." He skidded to a halt as he started walking up the ramp made by a blade of grass as he saw Sora and Steven. "Uh, what're you guys doing?"

Sora and Steven jumped up in surprise, tossing the berries they were eating aside. "Uh, we were....uh, just making sure you made it back okay!" Sora laughed nervously.

Flik eyed them suspiciously, then shook his head. "Whatever. No time for that. Just help me out here." He turned around and Steven and Sora quickly grabbed armfuls of grain and tossed them into the pile. Flik proceeded to lift the machine off of himself and tossed it towards the ground. It landed on the base of the rock platform.

Oblivious to Flik, it was still running. As it slid off the edge of the platform, the catapult mechanism went off and dislodged a small pebble. With it missing, the balance of the platform was off and the rock tipped backwards.

Hearing a rumble, the trio turned around and screamed. The food was falling into the pond! "AH!" They rushed up and tried to pull the leaf back up. Despite the theory that ants could lift things several times their size, they just couldn't manage this one. Flik panicked. "No, no! N-n-n-n-n-ooooooo!" He could do nothing as they all watched the last piece of grain fall slowly into the pond.

Flik shivered in shock. "Oh no....."

Sora and Steven stared down at the pond and then looked to each other. Steven broke the silence. "Well, we're boned!"

They rushed to the anthill. "Princess Atta! Princess Atta!" Flik yelled as they quickly ran down into the tunnels leading inside. They made it in right before another shadow covered the ground. It was definitely not a leaf this time.

* * *

In the chambers of the anthill, the other ants shuddered in fear. Atta whispered in a worried tone. "They come, they eat, they leave. They come, they eat, they leave."

The trio quickly pushed their way through the crowd to reach Atta. Sora tapped her on the shoulder. "Princess Atta, we have to tell you something."

"Not now, Sora." said Atta.

"But it's really important." strained Steven.

Atta waved it off. "It can wait."

Flik grabbed her arm with a frantic whisper-yell. "Your Highness, it's about the Offering!"

"SHH!"

A consistent buzzing noise above ground grew louder, then suddenly went to a halt. Voices were heard up above. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Yeah, where's the food?"

The colony gasped. Atta began shaking with rage. "What did you do?"

The entire colony's gaze turned to Sora, Flik, and Steven. Sora faltered under their gaze. "Uh....this is just a set-up?"

"This isn't what it looks like?" Steven offered.

"It was an accident?" squeaked Flik.

_BAM_. A long foot with spikes on the side smashed through the ground into the anthill. Several more followed. Cackling green blurs smashed dropped inside the holes that had been made. Grasshoppers. The ants started running around in this enclosed panic.

Steven summoned his Keyblade, hardly being noticed among the chaos. "Can we fight _them_, Sora?"

As Sora opened his mouth, somebody landed right behind him. Flik backed up from where he was and bumped into the same thing. They turned to see another grasshopper. He was brown, unlike most of the other ones. He was very tall and had two different colored eyes, one a light brown and the other a bright blue. Flik stuttered. "H-H-Hopper."

Steven quickly hid his Keyblade behind his back and made it vanish, laughing nervously before disappearing into the crowd.

Hopper walked around the floor of the anthill slowly. With every step, the ants backed away in fear. As Sora watched, he had a sinking feeling that this deal with the grasshoppers was more of a Mafia blackmail kind of thing.

Hopper stopped after looking around and angrily whispered. "Where is it?" When nobody answered, he yelled. "WHERE'S MY FOOD?"

Everyone kept quiet. Atta pointed towards the surface. "I-isn't it up there?"

Hopper turned to Atta. "Excuse me?"

Atta frantically tried to explain. "All of the food was sitting on a huge leaf-" She quickly tried to regain her confidence and it was quite hard under these circumstances. "You're sure it's not up there?"

Hopper walked over to her and spoke as calmly as possible. "Are you saying I'm stupid?"

Atta shook her head. "No, I-"

"Do I look stupid to you?" Hopper interrupted. "Why don't you use your common sense and think about this for a second. If the food was really up there, in plain sight, would I be coming down to your level looking for it?" He sighed. "Why am I even talking to you? You're not the queen." His antennae moved a little bit. "You don't smell like a queen."

The queen interjected. "She's learning to take over from me, Hopper."

Hopper smiled and laughed. "Ah, I see! Under new management!" His eyes turned back to Atta. "So it's your fault."

"No!" Atta protested. "No, it wasn't me it was-"

Hoppper wagged his finger. "Uh-uh-uh! First rule of leadership; everything is your fault! It's a dangerous world out there princess, but there are some basic rules. A circle of life, if you will. The sun grows the food, the ants pick the food, and the grasshoppers eat the food."

"Pardon me, Mr. Hopper," Sora walked to the center of the crowd holding a pocket dictionary. "But your message matches the legal definition of "extortion" in Webster's dictionary." He snapped it shut. "And extortion is very bad. Very bad, indeed."

Hopper took a couple of steps to tower over Sora. He snatched the dictionary, ripped it in half, and tossed it aside.

Sora shrugged. "You can keep that, I've got a few-"

Sora spun around as Hopper slugged him across the face. "Owwww...." and he collapsed to the ground yet again.

Hopper peered down at him. "I don't care what it means. That's how the world works. You puny ants pick the food and the grasshoppers eat the food."

As Sora weakly rose and faded back into the crowd, another brown grasshopper began talking rapidly. "Yeah, and then the birds eat the grasshoppers. Remember? Like the one that nearly ate you?"

Steven popped out of nowhere when he heard this. "And he got out?"

Hopper tried to get the grasshopper to stop talking. "Molt-"

He didn't listen, intent on telling Steven his story. "Oh yeah, ant. It was amazing, you should've been there. See, there was a blue jay and he's got Hop halfway down his throat. And then Hopper's kicking and screaming-"

Steven nodded in excitement. "Then what happened?"

"Well, he-" Hopper yanked Molt by his antennae and pulled him aside. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" Steven pouted. "Oh, come on! I want to hear how it ended!"

Hopper ignored him and slammed Molt against the wall, whispering angrily. "I swear, if I hadn't promised to Mother on her deathbed, that I wouldn't kill you…I would kill you!"

Molt nodded fearfully. "And lemme tell ya, pal, no one appreciates that as much as I do."

"Shut up!" snapped Hopper. "I don't wanna hear another word out of you while we're on this island, do you understand me?" Molt whimpered. Hopper slammed him against the wall again. "I said do you understand me?"

"How can I answer? You said I couldn't say another word!" Hopper reared his fist back as Molt cried out. "Hey, remember what you promised Mom!" Hopper growled loudly and punched a random grasshopper unlucky enough to be standing nearby.

All the ants just stare in shock. Hopper's voice suddenly changed to a somewhat pleasant tone. "Hey, c'mon! I'm a compassionate insect! Lucky for you guys, the rains don't come for a few months. So take this as a chance to try again."

"But Hopper," the queen objected. "We need to gather food for _ourselves_ before the rainy season."

Hopper's tone immediately went back to angry. "Look, Your Majesty, if you don't keep your end of the bargain, then I can't guarantee your saftey and there are insects out there that'll take advantage of you; someone might get hurt."

He snapped his fingers. A low growling sound was heard on the other side of the chamber. At least three grasshoppers were holding a long leash. At the end of it was a grasshopper. More accurately, it was an insane beast, because it definitely shrieked like one.

Behind the grasshopper, yellow eyes peeked out of the shadows. Sora and Steven's eyes grew wide. Heartless. Sora summoned his Keyblade. "Okay Steven. _Now_ we can kill them."

Steven popped his knuckles. "I thought you'd never say it." He held out his arm and his own Keyblade appeared. Some of the ants noticed, but the two warriors put a single finger to their lips and held it there as they crouched out of sight from the grasshoppers. The ants kept their fearful looks as the duo crept through the crowd.

Hopper looked around, hearing a slight shuffling movement somewhere in the chamber.

_Whoosh_. A couple of silhouettes moved from the ground to the ceiling. _SLICE_. Hopper turned to gaze at the Heartless. He saw whisps of shadows rising and fading away. He growled when he saw the two Keybladers glaring at him, weapons fresh with the stench of annihilated Heartless.

Suddenly, Hopper hit a new low. He grabbed Dot and moved towards the insane grasshopper. "What's the matter? You scared of grasshoppers?"

Dot started squealing, flailing her arms madly, wanting anything except to go anywhere near Thumper. Sora pointed his Keyblade at Hopper. "Put her down, Hopper!"

Hopper wouldn't stop. "You don't like Thumper, little girl?" Dot was screaming in tears now.

"Leave her alone!"

Hopper stopped. Turning his head, he saw Flik. Frowning, he stomped over and held Dot towards him. "You want her? Go ahead. Take her."

Flik trembled, not sure what Hopper would do if he did anything. Hopper blinked. "No? Then get back in line!"

Flik retreated back into the crowd. Hopper released the petrified ant, who ran back to her mother in fear. "Apparently, you ants are forgetting you place. So I think this calls for….a _double_ order of food."

Atta tried to protest. "But, we-!"

Hopper just walked right past her. "We'll be back at the end of the season." He peeled a small piece of skin off of Molt. "We'll be back when the the last leaf falls." He dropped the piece of skin and let it flutter to the ground in demonstration. "You ants have a nice summer. LET'S RIDE!"

Every grasshopper's wings buzzed immediately. Within five seconds, they flew up and out of the holes in the anthill created by them.

The ants gazed at the holes, then turned their gaze to the center of the chamber. Steven, Sora, and Flik stood there. Flik chuckled miserably.

Steven whispered to Sora. "I'm a little confused. Are we boned?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah, we're boned."

Steven suddenly came to grips with the situation. "Oh.......Told you we should've just killed 'em all."

Sora elbowed him the gut. "Shut up."

_

* * *

_

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_ Atta banged a small piece of wood on a rock, calling the court into session. "Well, what do you three have to say for yourselves? You two; why did you retaliate against Hopper? Did you honestly think you could beat him?"

Steven shrugged. "Well, for a minute or so, it seemed like it was gonna work."

Thorny crossed his arms. "You really think you could've taken the grasshoppers by yourself?"

Steven shook his head. "No, Sora would've helped me."

Another elder spoke up. "You're daft, boy! They outnumber you a hundred to one!"

Sora yelled back. "Your colony outnumbers _them_ a hundred to one! So why do you let them control you like this? Why don't you fight back!?"

Atta banged the 'gavel' on the rock again. "ORDER! After your example, the whole colony knows retaliation will only make things worse!"

Sora and Steven just turned their backs away. The elders just ignored them and turned to Flik. Flik just sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't want things to go this badly."

Atta grinned a bit. "Well, at least _someone_ realizes they did something wrong. For that, Flik, your sentece will be diminished to a week. As for you two, you will spend a month digging in the tunnels. Flik will join you for his week."

This caught their attention. "A month!?" they cried out.

Thorny interjected. "Excuse me, You Highness. Need I remind you of Flik's Tunnel-Within-A-Tunnel project?"

Steven meanwhile was freaking out. "Flik, you gotta help us, man!"

The word 'help' started up something in Flik's brain. "Help? Hey, guys I got an idea! We need to find bigger bugs to help us fight Hopper and his gang! We could leave the island and cross the riverbed while it's still dry and get some other bugs to help us!"

Steven yelled. "I got it!"

The elders stopped their discussion and turned to him. "What do you got?"

Steven pointed to his head. "A huge headache from falling so much." The elders groaned.

Then Flik shouted. "I got it!"

Atta sighed. "We don't want to hear about your headache, Flik."

Flik waved his hands. "No, no! I've got an idea! We could send someone to get help!"

Everyone but Flik and the Keybladers gasped. "Leave the island?" Atta asked. The queen scratched her head. "Now why didn't I think of that? Oh, right! Because it's suicide!"

Sora shook his head. "No...._this_ would be suicide." He mocked stabbing himself with the Keyblade and fell backwards.

"The queen's right! We never leave the island!" yelled Thorny. "There's snakes, birds, and bigger bugs out there!"

Flik replied in excitement. "That's my point; bigger bugs! If we get bigger bugs to come here and fight, we can be rid of Hopper and his gang forever!"

"Ludicrous!" cried Mr. Soil.

"Who would be crazy enough to do that?" said Dr. Flora.

Sora and Steven raised their hands. "Me!"

Flik raised his hand as well. "I'll do it!"

The queen laughed. "You kids have a lot of spunk, but nobody out there's going to just help a bunch of ants."

Steven stood behind Flik. "We could at least say we tried. Now where's the next populated area?"

Flik pondered this for a second. "Uh.....The city! We could search the city!"

"Now look," reasoned Atta. "Even if we let you go, _you_ would be on that search for weeks!"

Thorny and Cornelius smiled at 'weeks'. "Royal huddle!" The elders did exactly that. "Great idea, Princess! That's perfect."

Atta rubbed her head. "Uh, what did I just decide here?"

"To let them leave," replied Thorny. "While they're gone, we'll keep harvesting to meet the demands of Hopper."

"See?" chirped Dr. Flora. "With the boys gone-"

"-they can't mess anything up!" Atta realized. The royal huddle was dispersed. "Boys, after much deliberation, we've decided to grant your request."

The three winced for a second before realizing that the answer was 'yes'. "Really?"

"Uh, really." stammered Atta.

Flik ran up to her and vigorously shook her hand. "Oh, thank you so much, Princess! I promise we won't let you down!"

Atta struggled to free her hand. "It's nothing-"

Steven and Sora quickly ran up to shake her other hand. "We will not fail you, Your Highness!" they jabbered simaltaneously.

They almost rushed out before coming to a sudden stop. "We should probably help repair some of the damage before we go, right?" Flik suggested.

The council protested immediately. "NO! JUST LEAVE!"

* * *

Flik walked out of the anthill wearing a small cap made out of a small leaf. On his back he wore a backpack, also made of leaves. Sora and Steven were close behind them as they headed for the grassy forest. They turned back to the crowd of ants watching them leave.

Flik raised his arms. "Don't worry! The colony is in good hands!"

Sora was inspired to say something as well. "We will make the grasshoppers go for good!"

Steven, not wanting to be left out, spoke. "When we are through here, there will be peace, freedom, and rock n' roll!"

As they disappeared into the bushes, the colony took a moment to fully realize that they were now gone. They let out a massive cheer. Flik grinned. "Finally, people understand me."

"Or they could just be happy that we're gone." Steven pointed out. "Oh well. They'll be on their knees for us when this plan works. And it gets us out of our month of digging in the tunnels."

"Hey guys!"

The trio peered up to the grass to see two ant children. Sora waved. "Hey, kids. How's it going?"

The kids leaped down from the stalks and began following them. "My dad says it'll be an hour before you guys run back to the island crying." one piped up.

Sora laughed. "Does he now?"

The other one interjected. "My dad doesn't think that."

Steven clapped. "Nice to see that _someone_ believes in us."

"Actually, my dad was betting you guys were gonna die." he admitted.

Steven's clapping slowly died. "Oh..."

The boy continued. "Yeah, he's all like 'If the heat doesn't get 'em, the birds will'."

"Well, I think they'll make it."

The group turned to see Dot trailing behind them.

"No one asked you, Your Royal Shortness." said one ant.

"Yeah, Dot," sneered the other. "What do _you_ know?"

"Hey," coaxed Flik. "Ease up, guys. C'mon! She's entitled to her own opinion-"

He stopped. He had reached the ledge leading down into the riverbed. Steven and Sora stared down and gulped. Steven chuckled nervously. "Well, dead end! Let's go home!"

Flik turned around, but did not head back into the forest. He headed for the dandelion. The boys protested. "Flik! The city's that way!"

Flik nodded. "I know."

The boys puzzled as they saw him climbing up the stalk. "What're you doing? You're supposed to look for bugs, not dandelions!"

"Leave them alone!" said Dot. "Flik knows what he's doing. Right Flik?"

"That's right!" Flik agreed. He pulled out a dandelion seed and held it up like an umbrella. A white, fluffy umbrella. "For the colony and for opressed ants everywhere!" Holding the dandelion, he jumped. He placed his feet at the base of the seed and held onto the stem as it started floating towards the other side of the canyon. Steven and Sora marveled at Flik's genius yet again before following suit.

Dot waved to them as they floated away. "Good luck, guys! Bye!"

Flik waved back. "Bye!" He twisted back around just before slamming into a rock.

"Flik!" yelped Dot.

Flik called back, muffled. "I'm....okay!"

One of the kids was still in shock over what had just happened. "Maybe my dad was wrong. Maybe they have a chance."

He looked back in time to see Sora and Steven collide with each other in midair and almost lose their balance. He shook his head. "Never mind. Dad was right. They're gonna die."

"You just watch!" snapped Dot. "They're going to get the strongest, bestest, bugs you've ever seen!"

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY! **


	3. The City

After walking for pretty much the entire day, the trio found themselves walking in nightfall by a trailer. Sora and Steven panted from exhaustion, but Flik was too full of energy. "How much farther, Flik?" Sora wheezed.

"Don't worry, guys," assured Flik. "We're getting close. I can feel it!"

"That's what you said while the sun was still up." groaned Steven.

"Trust me, we're almost there. But remember, try to blend in and don't attract attention." Flik said. "From what I've heard, the city is a dangerous place."

"Pfft! No problem!" snickered Steven. "Nothing's going to happen."

A large object dropped from above and landed on Steven. "Why'd I have to say something?" He pushed the object off with great difficulty. To his shock, it was a dead fly. He looked above to see a glowing bug zapper with a blue aura from the light.

After kicking the dead fly aside, they headed under the trailer. Nothing would prepare them for what they were about to see. Several tin cans and cardboard boxes were arranged in unimaginable fashions. So much that they actually resembled buildings. "Wow," murmured Flik. "The city!"

It wasn't the glamour it seemed to be, though. After a few seconds of marvel, they were caught in traffic and struggled to get to the sidewalk without getting run over by the taxi-bugs. Flik quickly struggled through the crowd until he saw a familiar form of a dead fly launched out of one of the buildings. A wasp buzzed. "And stay out!" The fly's wings vibrated once more before it went still.

They headed inside and split up, looking for tough bugs to help them out. After at least an hour, they regrouped by the counter. Flik's gear was now absent for no apparent reason. "Any luck, guys?" asked Flik.

Sora shook his head. "I found a pretty tough-looking mosquito, but he didn't even notice me. Then he ordered a Bloody-Mary and chugged it. Passed out right after." Sora looked to his companion. "What about you, Steven?"

"My luck's as good as yours," replied Steven. "I walked up to an intimidating looking centipede. But when it turned around, I saw that it was a woman. She gave me a pretty harsh look and...that's all I remember. I woke up leaning over a table, disoriented and in pain."

Flik sighed. "Well guys, we tried and we couldn't find anybody. Let's just go home and-"

"What?" said a bewildered Sora. "We can't give up. Me and Steven can't defend the colony by ourselves, Flik!"

"We can't?" said Steven, his face ridden with confusion. "I'll take them, no problem!"

Before the argument could progress further, a shout was heard from across the room. A ladybug wearing a leaf cap similiar to Flik's yelled across the bar to some flies that were apparently exiting. "Come back, cowards! Face worthy foes!"

Flik's face lit up immediately. "Warrior bugs!"

The ladybug, who actually sounded like a guy, pulled out a long object. "My sword!"

He held no sword, however. It was just a stick bug that monotoned. "Swish, swish. Clang, clang."

A fat, green caterpillar joined in the fight, holding a toothpick. Everybody quickly backed out of the bar, pushing the trio out of view. Flik attempted to make his way through the crowd. "Excuse me? I need to get through!"

All of a sudden, the can creaked, and then tipped off of its position and started rolling away. The trio frantically followed it as it rolled. To their relief, the can crashed into a wooden post before too long.

They peeked into the can to see every bug involved in the fight, except the flies, still standing. There were nine bugs. The ladybug, stick, and caterpillar they'd seen fighting before, and there was also an incredibly beautiful butterfly, a wise-looking praying mantis, two pill-bugs, a black widow spider, and a large, blue Hercules beetle. From outside, a light shone upon them. This……was a sign.

"You're perfect!"

The bugs turned to see Flik dropping to his knees and bowing. "Oh, great ones! Me and my companions have been looking for bugs with your exact talents!"

The butterfly murmured to the group. "Ooh, a talent scout." The bugs eagerly leaned in to hear more. "Our colony is in trouble. A gang of grasshoppers is coming and we're being forced to prepare a lot of food!"

The group's eyes lit up. "Dinner theatre!" said the praying mantis.

"Is there really food?" said the caterpillar in a heavy accent.

Sora put his hands together in a sort of begging pose. "You gotta help us!"

Steven followed suit. "Pleeeeeaaase?"

The bugs looked behind them and eyed the unconcious forms of the flies. After a few more seconds, they began to stir. Their blood froze for a second. The stick bug cried out "We'll take the job!"

Before they knew what happened, they were all pushed outside. The pill bugs, Tuck and Roll, Rosie, the black widow, and Flik rode on Dim, the beetle, who carried the caterpillar, Heimlich. Francis, the ladybug, carried Slim, the stick bug.

Sora and Steven eyed the arrangement with confused expressions. "Something wrong?" asked Francis.

Steven surveyed the current transportation circumstances. "Um, I don't see any room for us."

"No problem," said Rosie. She climbed off of Dim and quickly spun a couple of nets in the back for Sora and Steven, tying them around the giant beetle's hind legs. "Wow," marveled Sora. "Thanks."

Rosie smiled. "You're welcome." Steven nervously climbed into his net. "See? Even if you lose your balance, the web will stick and you won't fall out." As she spoke, Steven immediately felt the effect of the sticking lock him in.

"That's genius!" Steven said. After a second or so, a disturbing thought entered his head. "Uh.....you're not gonna eat us, right?"

Rosie laughed. "Honey, it's usually not a good idea to eat a client. Besides, ants are way too salty."

"Uh...thanks." mumbled Steven. He didn't know whether to be relieved or offended by that comment.

"Hold on, ants." rumbled Dim. His wings immediately started up, vibrating at tons of beats per second.

* * *

On the way there, they found out a bit about the bugs. "So Francis, you're a ladybug.....but you're a guy?"

Francis gave a small glare at Sora, who winced. "Sorry." Francis shrugged it off. "It's alright. I'm used to it. All my life, people think being a ladybug automatically makes me girl." Then he smiled, almost evilly. "But here's the problem with that theory; how would we reproduce if there's only females? Huh?"

Sora chuckled. "I guess you're right. What's you're story, Slim?"

"My story is one of humiliation," said a lamented stick bug. "No matter what we do, I'm always just a stick!"

Sora pondered this. "But you're a walking stick, aren't you?"

Slim sighed. "Why do I even bother?"

Meanwhile, Flik was having a great conversation with Tuck and Roll. "Everybody used to think I was a failure. But I'll show them! I'll show everyone! When Princess Atta sees you guys, she's be so happy!" He laughed wildy. Not really knowing what has going on, they laughed in response.

* * *

Back on Ant Island, Dot sat perched on a clover, looking through Flik's telescope to see if anybody was arriving. Only for the two boys who were with her on the day they left to come and put her down…again.

"Well, well, well," smirked the first. "Look who it is. Poor little Spat!"

She looked down, glaring daggers at them. "The name is Dot!"

"Well, Spot!" sneered the second. "You still looking for those losers?"

"You're wasting your time, Princess! They're never coming back!"

Dot resumed looking, and saw a strange variety of bugs heading towards her. And riding on the beetle was-

"FLIK! THEY DID IT!" cheered Dot.

She waved, and they waved back. The boy ants climbed up to the clover to see this. They looked at each other. "Cooooool."

A second later, their combined weight pushed the clover down and they fell to the ground.

Ants were walking in a single file line. One staggered for a few seconds, then collapsed under the massive amount of heat. Thorny, Cornelius, and Flora rushed for him. "Oh dear, not another one!" said Flora.

Thorny sighed. "It's the eighth one today. Face it, there's just not enough food on the island." He crossed his arms. "At least it can't get any worse from here."

At that moment, a loud buzzing was heard in the sky. The colony looked up and spied a strange variety of bugs flying towards the island. "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" screamed Cornelius.

The colony frantically ducked behind the nearest blade of grass, rock, or whatever they could. One by one, the supposed invaders landed, Dim bringing up a small tremor. "Ta-da!" shouted Francis.

There was silence......a bird cheeped somewhere.

Manny sighed. "Our reputation precedes us yet again."

Flik jumped off of Dim. "Hey, everybody!" he announced. "We're back!"

Sora quickly freed himself from the makeshift web seat. "We brought back some bugs, guys!"

Steven tugged at the web attached to his legs. "Yeah, come see! And someone help me out of here!"

Dot rushed up to Flik. "You're back!" She jumped up into his arms. "I knew you could do it!"

The surprised colony slowly came out of hiding to see Flik and the others. Mr. Soil couldn't believe his eyes. "Your Majesty, Sora, Steven, and Flik have returned! And they are accompanied by savage insects!"

"What?!" yelled Atta, practically pulling her antennae out of her head. "How did this-? They weren't supposed to actually _find_ someone!"

The troop was being well received by the colony. One of the frequently involved children walked up to Slim. "What're _you_ supposed to be?" The other kid elbowed him. "He's a stick, you idiot! You hit bugs with him."

Slim chuckled. "Actually, I have quite an important part to-"

Francis grabbed Slim. "You're right, kids! Watch!"

He picked up the stick bug and swung Slim downward and smacked Heimlichs's head with him. "Ow...." whimpered Slim.

Several kids crawled under Dim. Rosie cautioned them immediately. "Be careful under there, kids! He's very ticklish!"

Oblivious to this, the kids walked under him, brushing his belly with their antennae. Dim chuckled, lightly at first, but he couldn't contain it. He started laughing and stomping everywhere and caused more tremors, as well as several frantic kids running back to the crowd.

The queen walked up, laughing as well. "Well done, my boys! You actually came through. I'm very impressed."

"Thanks, Your Highness," said Steven, still tugging at the web. "A little help here?"

A panicking Atta soon stumbled onto the scene. Flik quickly spotted her in the crowd. "Princess Atta!" He pointed quickly. "Hey guys, this is Princess Atta! She's the one who sent me to find you!" He turned back to Atta. "So, Princess Atta, what do you think?"

Atta turned to the council of royalty. "What's going on? This was not supposed to happen!"

Slim noticed them whispering and turned to Francis. "Mayday, mayday! we're losing the job!" Francis nodded. "You're right. We need to sweeten the deal a bit."

He flew on top of Dim's horn, in plain sight, to make a short speech. "Your Majesty! Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls of all ages! Our troupe here guarantees a performance like no other! Why, when your grasshopper friends get here, we are gonna knock! Them! Dead!"

The colony cheered. They were saved! "Okay, that's great," muttered Steven. He climbed on top of Dim. "Now that we've finished our mission," he pointed to his leg yet again and yelled. "Can someone help me out of this thing? She denies it, but I still think the spider wants to eat me!"

* * *

Their arrival was celebrated with a party consisting of ants playing very strange instruments. They sounded as authentic, though. Atta still had an angry look in her eyes though. The queen tapped her shoulder. "Lighten up, honey. Be proud of yourself. You had instincts about those boys and they were right on the money!"

Atta knew this wasn't true. The mission was a ploy to keep them off of the island and out of the way. Her expression softened a little bit though. Maybe this would be a good direction to go in.

The queen announced the colony, after the band stopped playing. "Now, we have a mural to show you, dedicated to our warriors!"

The troupe raised their eyebrows. Warriors? Weren't they being hired for dinner theatre?

Several small children ants stepped forward holding a large, rolled up leaf. They unrolled it to show what was depicted. It was quite graphic. Several crudely drawn images of grasshoppers were shown being torn apart by the bugs. Dot pointed to a certain point on the drawing, the one that depicted Heimlich, split in half. "Our teacher had us draw one of you dying because she said it would be more dramatic."

The troupe gasped. Heimlich started turning white. This wasn't dinner theatre. This was war! The presentation continued with a skit of kids playing the warriors and grasshoppers and everybody dying. Slim covered Heimlich's eyes before it was over. Francis fainted. Tuck and Roll clapped wildly, still not knowing what was going on.

Atta got to her feet and tried to project her voice to make a speech. "We're all very grateful to have-" Flik stuck an improvised megaphone in her hand. "_THE WARRIORS-_" The effect was instant, and soon the whole colony's eyes were on Atta. She covered the mouth of the object. "Thanks," she whispered.

"_FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE WARRIORS FOR HELPING US IN OUR FIGHT AGAINST THE GRASSHOPPPERS!_" The colony let out a small cheer. "_SECONDLY, I'D LIKE TO THANK THREE VERY IMPORTANT BUGS. WITHOUT THEM, THIS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE; FLIK, SORA, AND STEVEN!_"

The trio waved to the crowd with pride. Caught up in the moment, Flik grabbed the megaphone. "_THANK YOU, YOUR HIGHNESS!_" He jumped from his seat and began pacing around. "_SURE, WE'D LIKE TO TAKE ALL THE CREDIT FOR THIS, BUT THAT WOULDN'T BE RIGHT._"

Sora eagerly pulled the megaphone from him and began his own little speech. "_THAT'S RIGHT! FOR IT WAS YOU, PRINCESS ATTA AND THE COUNCIL OF ELDERS, WHO BELIEVED IN OUR GOAL AND SENT US ON OUR QUEST!_"

The colony cheered yet again. Steven was next to snatch the spotlight. "_NOW, AS I RECALL, THE COUNCIL REFERRED TO ME AND SORA AS 'DAFT' FOR BELIEVING WE COULD TAKE ON THESE GRASSHOPPERS BY OURSELVES!_"

A few gasps were heard and several surprised glances were cast towards the council, who shifted a little bit under these stares.

"_BUT HAVING SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT MADE ME REALIZE THIS,_" continued Steven. "_THEY WERE RIGHT. TWO ANTS DON'T MAKE AN ARMY. AND THAT IS WHY YOU SELECTED THESE BUGS TO LEAD YOU GUYS, AND THAT IS WHY I AM STANDING HERE, COMMENDING THEM ON DOING A WONDERFUL JOB OF IT! GIVE 'EM A HAND, FOLKS!_"

The glares were wiped from the faces of the colony and a loud uproar of applause was given. Rosie tapped Steven on the shoulder, frantically trying to tell him the bad news. "Steven, we have to talk. There's been a misunderstanding." she whispered.

Steven put his hand over the megaphone. "I'm sorry for thinking you wanted to eat me, but I have to make a speech right now." He uncovered the megaphone as Rosie continued to whisper to him. "_NOW, I KNOW THAT IF WE ALL BAND TOGETHER-_" He covered it again. "Rosie, there isn't even a circus around here." He continued. "_SO, IN CONCLUSION-_"

At that moment, Rosie's words hit him hard. He glanced over. Flik and Sora noticed this, so they looked as well. Francis juggled a few water droplets and he, Rosie, and Heimlich mimed "Ta-da!"

The trio's eyes grew wide and their heartbeats immediately quickened. Steven dropped the megaphone and rushed over to Atta. "AH! Your Highness! The warriors have called for a meeting to plan for a circus-"

Sora pushed him out of the way to cover up Steven's slip-up. "A _circumventing_ so that we can trapeze-"

Flik pushed Sora aside to cover up that slip-up "_trap_ the grasshoppers with ease!"

Atta shrugged. "Okay," Flik sighed in relief. Atta stood up. "But shouldn't I come too?"

"No!" interrupted Sora. "Sorry, but uh, you see, it's strictly classified in the DMC. You know, just uh-"

Steven stood up. "It's just strictly BYOB. Okay?"

The troupe shuffled towards the forest. "Sorry," apologized Flik. "Sorry that we have to take the warriors away so soon, but they got important business so, just enjoy the party!" After Dim had stumbled into the isolated area, the trio rushed in.

Much of the colony stared in silence at the events that had just occured.

"BYOB?" mused Atta.

* * *

"CIRCUS BUGS?" cried Flik. "How can you be circus bugs?"

Franics immediately fired back. "Hey, hey, hey! You said nothing about killing grasshoppers, pal. _You_ lied to _us_."

"Yeah," agreed Heimlich.

"Are you kidding?" Flik grabbed his head in frustration. "Do you know what this is? This, my friends, is false advertising!"

Manny sent a vile glare at Flik. "How…dare you!" He stomped over to where Flik was standing. "You, sir, are the charlatan in this scenario, posing as a talent scout, preying upon the hungry souls of hapless artists, how could you? Good day to you, sir!"

Tuck and Roll walked up to Flik and smacked him across the face. Flik stood there, stunned, as they walked away before quickly running in front of them. "Please, I'm begging you, don't go! You've got to help me! I just need a little time to think of a plan."

Heimlich pointed back to the area where the colony was. "Go back and tell them the truth."

Flik grabbed Heimlich's face and shook it. "They can't know the truth, are you crazy? That would be terrible if they found out!"

"He'd be branded with this mistake for the rest of his life!" said Sora.

"His children's _children_ will walk down the street and people will go 'Look! There goes the spawn of Flik, the loser!'" added Steven.

Flik glared at them, then sighed. "You know what? Alright, you can go. But if you could just do me a favor before you leave-" He lay down on the ground. He lifted Dim's foot and placed it on top of his head. "-if you could just squish me, that would be great, cause when they find out I'm as good as dead."

"Flik!"

Flik jolted when he heard Atta's voice in the distance. "Flik, I really think I should be a part of this meeting!"

Flik rushed away from the area and peeled back a blade of grass to see her angry face. "Ah! Princess Atta! What a nice.....er, surprise!"

Atta moved her head, trying to peer past him, but he moved in front of her every time. "Just what exactly is going on? I'd like to speak with these so-called warriors."

"They're in a top-secret meeting right now and really should not be disturbed." He turned back. "Right guys?"

He looked back to find the bugs running away. Steven and Sora had already begun to chase.

Flik turned back to the princess, chuckling nervously. "Would you excuse me for a minute?" He bolted towards the fleeing bugs. "Wait, wait, wait! Please, don't go!"

Atta lifted her arms in confusion. "I'm not going anywhere. Flik, what's going on?"

She peeked into the clearing to find…nobody. "Flik? FLIK!"

Back in the clearing, Sora, Steven, and Flik were desperately pleading to get the bugs to not leave. Flik went so far as to jump off the cliff and grab Slim's legs. "You can't go! I'm desperate!"

"Really?" said Slim, sarcastically. "I couldn't tell."

When they bugs were touching down on the other side, they tried to pull the ones who brought them here off of Slim's legs.

"Put the stick down!" said Rosie. "Boys, I mean it now, drop the stick." They trio just stared as they noticed a large feather in the vicinity. That's when Flik froze in fear and that's when Steven and Sora realized that being ants came with a drastic drop on the food chain.

Rosie twirled a small lasso made of her web. "I didn't wanna have to do this, but you leave me-"

The trio let go of Slim and headed for the riverbed. "-no choice?" finished a confused Rosie.

Flik turned back for barely a second. "No time! Just run!" And he kept running as if the bug-devil was on his heels.

Heimlich just watched. "They run really fast for little guys."

BOOM! The bugs turn around to find a large, orange and brown shaded bird peering down at them. The bird screeched loudly at this potential buffet.

Tuck and Roll screamed. "AH! Tweet, tweet! Tweet, tweet!"

With that, they started flying as fast as possible to get away from the bird.

* * *

The ant council was watching from a rock. "There they are." said Atta while pointing at the troupe. Suddenly, a feathery orange blur flew directly over the group. The elders gasped. "A BIRD!"

Then they heard a scream from in the air. They looked up to see a floating dandelion. And on that dandelion was someone who had been watching: Dot! "Flik!"

She looked up to find the bird heading straight for her. She did the only thing she could: she let go. She screamed as she began to plummet to her imminent doom. "Dot!" yelled Atta.

"My baby!" cried the queen.

Francis noticed the falling princess, fortunately. "Don't worry kid, I gotcha!"

He did catch her, but her weight brought them into a gorge. The bird pecked at the side, and brought an avalanche of rocks. One pinned Francis' leg, and the other hit his head, knocking him out cold. The bird kept pecking, knowing it would get down there eventually. But then it heard something else: Heimlich, Sora, and Steven taunting it.

"Yoo-hoo!" jeered Heimlich. "How about a nice tasty worm on a stick?"

"Your mother was a vulture!" yelled Sora.

"OH! BURN!" joined Steven.

Slim struggled to hold up the fat caterpillar. "I'm going to snap, I'm going to snap!"

The bird was swayed. It started hopping slowly towards Heimlich, Sora and Steven. The meal and the comments about its mother were too much to stay away from.

Fortunately, this was a distraction to allow everybody else to save Dot and Francis.

As the bird drew upon them, Slim yelled. "Now would be a good time!"

At that moment, Sora and Steven drew out their Keyblades and shot Firaga spells at the bird. The creature squealed in pain as the fireballs hit it and backed away. "Now!" shouted Sora.

They pulled Heimlich out of the crack and Dim flew over and grabbed him. Rosie attached two strands of webbing to Dim's legs, which Sora and Steven promptly grabbed. Once they were secure, Flik yelled. "Take off!"

Thought momentarily distracted, the bird was in hot pursuit. As Steven managed a brave glance backwards, he saw death inside that mouth....not a pretty sight. He looked up to see a rose bush. "In there!"

The bugs quickly retreated inside and, carefully avoiding the thorns, landed. The bird collided with the bush several times. It attempted to land. It's claws close around the thorny branch and it jolted from the pain. With a final screech, it took off back to its nest.

The bugs sighed in relief. Their ears perked up when they heard a sound. "What's that?" asked Rosie.

Manny's eyes grew wide as he realized it. "I don't believe it. We, my friends, are hearing the sound of applause!"

And it was true. The ants were completely amazed. They had seen what these bugs could do. They took on a bird! Not many can do that and live to tell the tale. Everybody just waved and bowed. This was what they'd wanted all these years: To be appreciated for their work.

Francis smiled. "Applause. I'm in heaven!"

* * *

In the aftermath, Francis lay in the medical chamber in the anthill. He rested on a flower with a bandaged leg as one of the children gave a short speech. "The Blueberry Scouts give you their gratitude for saving our youngest member, Princess Dot." he said. "And in honor of your valiant actions, we've changed our bandanas."

The entire troop turned around. Their leaf-shaped capes had been painted a light orange shade and splattered with black dots, resembling that of a ladybug. Dot turned and grinned. "We voted you Honorary Den-Mother!" The troop surrounded him, cheering. The smiling ladybug grumbled, the ladybug gender confusion kicking in yet again.

Atta peeked in from the entrance. "Flik, can we talk for a second?"

Flik was elevating Francis' leg when he heard. "Oh sure, no problem."

He walked away, leaving Francis' leg to thud against the flower. "Ow!" yelped Francis.

She led him into a massive intersection of paths in the anthill. "Are the warriors alright? Did I offend them? I'll be honest. When I first saw them, I thought you'd hired a bunch of clowns."

Flik chuckled nervously. "Haha, uh....you did?" He coughed a little bit.

Atta turned a little red out of foolishness. "Don't tell them I said that. Another royal blunder is the _last_ thing I need."

Flik's nervousness vanished as he tried to reassure her. "Princess, I think you're doing a wonderful job."

Atta smiled. "Thanks, Flik. You're wrong, but you're sweet." She drooped her shoulders. "Believe me, I know what everyone really thinks."

"Who?"

"Everyone." Atta gestured to all the ants around her. "The whole colony. They don't think I can do this, but it's like.....it's like they're all watching me, just waiting-"

Flik nodded. "Waiting for you to screw up."

Atta gave a sympathetic glance at Flik. "I owe you an apology Flik. I haven't been all that nice to you, even though you've been doing so much for the colony lately. I'm sorry. If I can do anything to make it up to you-"

She gasped in realization. "I've got it! How would you, Sora, and Steven like to be the queen's Official Aid to the warriors?"

Flik smiled. "Really?"

Atta shrugged. "Oh, sure. You've got a great report going. Especially after that rescue. It was very brave."

Flik shook his head in modesty. "No, no, come on,"

Atta smacked him playfully. "Step up, Flik. Not many bugs would face a bird like that. I mean, come on! Even Hopper's afraid of 'em."

Flik nodded in agreement. "Yeah I guess I-"

He froze, trying to make sure he'd heard correctly. "Come again?"

"Even Hopper's afraid of birds," repeated Atta.

Flik froze. "Flik?" She waved her hand in front of his face. Before anything else happened, Flik quickly kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you." With that, he sped out of the room in a flash. Atta's hand slowly moved up to her cheek in surprise. But she just smiled.

* * *

Flik rushed back into the "warriors" chamber. "Hey guys! Hopper's afraid of birds!"

"Really?" asked Steven. "Well, I don't blame him!"

Flik began pacing excitedly. "This is perfect! We can get rid of Hopper, and no one has to say I messed up. You just keep pretending that you're warriors."

"We don't have to pretend that," said Sora.

Flik sighed. "I was talking to the circus bugs."

"Hold on, honey," protested Rosie. "We are _not_ about to fight grasshoppers, okay?"

"You'll be gone before the grasshoppers ever arrive." Flik reassured. "It'll be easy! Now what we have to do is-"

"No!" said Manny. "Not another word. I don't know what you're thinking of in that ant brain of yours, but we'll have no part of it."

"Excuse me," the bugs looked at the entrance to see a couple of kids with leaves. "Could we get the warriors' autographs?"

The bugs' eyes widened. Nobody had ever asked them for an autograph before. They eagerly picked up some sticks and smeared their names, in ink, onto the leaves for the boys. They soon left the chamber, talking about how cool they were.

"You were saying, Flik?"

Flik turned to see the circus bugs with very determined looks on their faces. He smiled and immediately told them of his plan. "Alright, we are going to build a bird, a bird that we can operate from the inside-"

* * *

The plan was sound and Manny proceeded to explain it to the council of elders, a small-scale replica included. "-which will be hoisted above the anthill and hidden high in the tree. Then, when Hopper and his gang are below, we'll launch the bird-" He opened up his wings. "-and we'll _scare off the grasshoppers!_"

* * *

Soon, a colony meeting was called where Atta gave the orders to put the plan in motion, speaking with the megaphone Flik had made. "_WE NEED EVERYONE'S HELP TO MAKE THIS PLAN A REALITY. I KNOW IT BREAKS TRADITION BY DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY, BUT IF OUR ANCESTORS COULD BAND TOGETHER TO BUILD THIS ANTHILL, WE'LL RALLY TOGETHER TO BUILD THIS BIRD!_"

This was met with cheering and applause. Steven clapped as he sat next to Sora. "I'm glad we didn't kill everybody when we got here."

* * *

Building began immediately. United, the colony could accomplish this with ease. It went through processing of putting sticks and leaves together, Heimlich eating food while the wings were tested, and Tuck and Roll nudging Flik every time he got in any form of communication with Atta.

* * *

Meanwhile, Franicis was still stuck as the Den Mother of the Blueberry Scouts. It was an unfortunate duty indeed. He was forced to play virtually anything they asked him to. And surprisingly, they were better, even at poker.

* * *

As construction continued, everyone climbed up the tree, which was filled with unfallen leaves. They jumped onto each one and floated down before using them for the bird. Sora and Steven climbed up several times. When the final batch was called for, they climbed up yet again.

"Hey Steven, feeling lucky?" asked Sora slyly. Steven eyed him with a predicting stare. He grinned evilly. "Are you challenging me to a race?" Sora struck a thinking pose. "Maybe," Steven smiled yet again. "Oh, it's on!" They both jumped, quite high and descended upon the final batch of leaves.

They did several tricks as they floated down. Sora stood on his hands as he descended while Steven twirled, flying upside down at times. But, as the laws of physics demanded, Steven had to hit something. As he did one final twirl, gravity kicked in and he fell towards the ground. He closed his eyes and collided and-

-bounced. He opened his eyes and unbelievably noticed that he had landed upon a web. He looked around and spotted a smiling Rosie. He nodded his head in thanks.

And then, it was finished. And with that, the colony hoisted it up. Dim pushed it into the highest hollow of the tree, and secured it so it could be released when the time was right. Tuck and Roll popped out of the beak when it was secure. "You're FIIIIRRRREEED!"

Everybody cheered. Especially Flik. His plan would work. He'd finally make a difference.

* * *

In a hot, dry desert, there was a sombrero leaning up against a cactus. This was Hopper's hangout. This head ornament is where he and his grasshoppers lived their morally corrupt lives. They had mosquitoes as all-purpose slaves. They were used as waiters, entertainers, and even darts.

Hopper, meanwhile, was getting an undeserved back massage. Meanwhile, Molt and the other grasshoppers had been thinking. So therefore, Molt walked over to Hopper to tell him their thoughts. "Hey ya, Hop!"

"Go away." mumbled Hopper.

"That's fine," shrugged Molt. "Then I won't tell ya my idea."

"Good."

Molt rushed back. "Okay, okay. I'll tell ya anyway. I've been thinking, which is something I do, being vice president of the gang and all. And just a thought; Why go back to Ant Island at all? We have plenty of food as it is. Besides, you don't even like grain."

Hopper overturned the tube he was on. "What!?"

He started backing Molt into a wall. "You're right; I didn't think it was such a good idea myself," whimpered Molt. "Actually, it wasn't even my idea. It was Axel and Loco's. They talked fancy to me. I got confused!"

Hopper suddenly stopped, thinking this over. He flew over to the center of the group. All the celebrating came to a sudden halt. "Guys," announced Hopper. "Order another round, because we're staying here!"

This was met with thunderous cheering from his gang. Hopper laughed. "I mean, come on! What was I thinking, going back to Ant Island? I mean we just got here, we have more than enough food for the winter, and we pretty much have an iron fist everywhere thanks to the Heartless from our dear friend Malificent, right? Why go back?"

He took a spot next to a giant dispenser full of grain. "Although, there were those ants that stood up to me,"

A couple of grasshoppers at the bar laughed. "Yeah, but we can forget about them!" said one.

"Yeah, just a few puny ants!" said another.

Hopper pondered this. "Hmm, puny. Say, let's pretend this grain is a puny little ant." He pulled out a single grain and tossed it lightly at one of the grasshoppers. It thumped against its chest. "Did that hurt?"

The grasshopper snorted. "No!"

Hopper laughed. "Well, how about this one?"

He threw another grain at another grasshopper. This one burst into laugher. "You kidding me, boss?"

Everybody laughed, including Hopper. "Well, how about _this_?"

He pulled the plug on the bottle of grain, unleashing a flood of the food. The grasshoppers at the bar screamed as they were buried under their food in mere seconds. Hopper climbed on top of the grain. "If even one ant would stand up to us, then they _all_ might stand up, especially since they have the Keyblade Wielders on their side.

There was a murmur through the crowd. "Keyblades? What?

"The ones who killed our Heartless, you idiots! Even with the Heartless on our side, those puny, little ants outnumber us a hundred to one. And if they ever figure that out, there goes our way of life! It's not about food. It's about keeping those ants in line. That's why we're going back! Does anybody else wanna stay?"

Silence…..every grasshopper started up their wings. Hopper smiled, quite evilly. "Now.......LET'S RIDE!"

They flew out of the sombrero and changed direction. They formed a small green cloud of bugs as they headed for Ant Island.

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY!**


	4. Shame, Redemption, and Confrontation

Back on Ant Island, the ants were having a huge party to celebrate the completion of the bird and their eventual freedom from the oppression of Hopper, complete with a conga line and everything.

Tuck and Roll danced a kind of butt-smack dance with a very energetic Dr. Flora. Slim was held out as a limbo stick. Dim had the best job though. As kids climbed onto his back, he catapulted them through the air and onto a web.

Even Steven joined in. When he climbed on, Dim turned around and started buzzing his wings, keeping his shell closed, but building up energy. After five seconds, his shell burst open and Steven flew at unimaginable speeds towards a much stronger web.

"EXTREEEEEEEME!" yelled Steven. He collided hard with the web and it bounced back and forth from the impact, but it held firm. Steven recovered from the adrenaline. "WHOO! That was awesome!"

Then he saw Rosie climbing up from the base of the web. Still fearing he was a menu item to her, Steven gulped.

Five Minutes later...

Rosie and Steven had been enjoying quite the conversation while Steven was stuck in the web.

"And that's how my twelfth husband died," explained Rosie. "So now I'm a widow again."

Steven nodded. "So wouldn't that make you a black widow, widow?

They two laughed quite hysterically at the joke. "You know what, Rosie?" said Steven. "You're alright."

Rosie patted him on the head. "You too, hon."

Francis, meanwhile, had gotten used to his role as Den Mother of the Scouts. "Blueberries, dismissed!" They saluted and ran off. "But don't beat up the boys!" He let out a sigh. "Those raisins are really growing on me."

Later, the entire troupe conversed with Flik, Sora, and Steven.

"Okay, once the party quiets down, I'll sneak you out the back way and you'll be out of here forever. You'll be gone before Hopper gets back, just as we planned."

The troupe's look of fun and excitement immediately deflated to moping in sadness. "What's wrong?" asked Sora.

"Dim don't wanna go." mumbled Dim.

Rosie shrugged. "Well, if Dim stays, he's gonna need me here. He's not fully trained. Well, house-trained." Dim chuckled in agreement.

Francis rubbed his head. "Uh, I kinda promised the Blueberries I'd teach them canasta."

Gypsy placed her arms around the trio's shoulders. "Well boys, it seems we've been booked for an extended engagement."

With that, Tuck and Roll walked over and high fived all three ants.

"Would you look at this?" The group turned to see Atta, grinning wildly. "Just look at this colony! I don't even recognize it anymore!"

She gestured over to Cornelius, who was doing push-ups for a crowd, including the queen. "I feel seventy again!" shouted Cornelius.

The queen nodded. "Work those abs, baby!"

Atta clasped her hands together. "And I have you guys to thank for that, so thank you so much!" She edged a little closer. "And uh, thanks for finding them, Flik."

"Me?" Flik turned towards her in surprise, temporarily tangling their antennae. They quickly got out, laughing the whole time. Atta finished laughing. "I'll go check on the bird."

Flik smiled as she walked away. Steven slapped his arm. "Man, Flik, you are one sly insect."

Flik broke from his trance. "What?" He noticed the group eyeing him with a stare that said 'We know everything'. "What?" Everyone just laughed.

* * *

Thorny was currently on the lookout post, using one of Flik's telescopes. Eventually, he'd come to accept that Flik's inventions were rather useful. Every way, there were lookout lights. But then he noticed a large rustling in the field of clovers. He immediately blew the warning horn after.

* * *

The wailing sound broke the party and Atta shouted. "Battle stations! This is not a drill!"

The ants formed several straight lines and Steven and Sora whipped out their Keyblades. "I've been waiting for this moment for a while now," muttered Steven. He took the lead at the head of a battalion of ants. "CHARGE!"

With a war cry, he and the troops charged straight for the forest. A large object burst out of it, and the troops skidded to a halt. "RUN AWAY!" yelled Steven. They dispersed and scattered.

The object was soon revealed to be nothing more than a caravan driven by a flea and pulled by two millipedes. "Greetings, and salutations everyone!" shouted the flea, getting everyone's attention as he stopped the caravan. "I am the great P.T Flea!"

"Oh no," whispered Manny at the sight of their former employer. "Everybody hide!" They found a rather large leaf and immediately hid themselves under it, slowly shuffling away.

P.T began dancing for the confused ants. "I'm in need of your assist-" He stopped dancing. "Oh, never mind. I've been traveling around for a while. I'm looking for my troupe of circus performers. Seen 'em?"

A poster was dropped down, displaying each and every one of the circus bugs. Sora and Flik immediately gasped. Steven meanwhile, was still hidden somewhere. His ears, if he had any as an ant, perked up when he heard 'circus'. He began creeping discreetly to subdue P.T when the opportunity came.

An old ant pointed his cane at the poster. "Wait a second, isn't that-?"

Sora and Flik rushed forward and began pushing the poster up, trying to hide the truth from everyone. "No, no! Nothing! Sorry, we haven't seen anything!" said Flik.

"And you probably need to keep searching, so you better get going. Bye!" added Sora.

P.T rolled his eyes, then noticed a large leaf behind the caravan. "Hey, what's that?" His firefly crew trained their spotlights on the leaf. The small amount of visible space revealed several shuffling legs.

P.T jumped off and yanked the leaf off, revealing the troupe. "Oh, guys! I've been looking all over for ya! Flaming Death is a huge hit!"

The bugs frantically tried to get P.T to shut up. "P.T, not now! Shut up!" whispered Francis.

P.T kept jabbering. "I'm serious! Word got around, and there was a huge line of flies the next day! It went on forever! It must've been at least a foot long!"

Rosie waved her arms franticaly. "P.T, stop!"

"I've got it all figured out!" cried the flea with the unstoppable mouth. "You guys burn me twice a night, I take a day off to heal, and then we do it all over again! We'll be the top circus act in the business!"

Steven, who had been inches away from ambushing the flea, froze in place. The cover that he, Sora, and Flik had put on was blown.

Atta gasped as she realized. "You mean...you're not warriors?"

P.T laughed. "Are you kidding? These guys are the lousiest circus bugs you've ever seen and they're gonna make me rich!"

"You mean to tell me our entire defensive strategy was concocted by clowns?" cried Thorny.

"Hey," defended Francis. "We really thought Flik's idea was gonna work." The colony gasped. The spotlights turned onto Flik and Sora. Their cover was doubly blown now. Francis' antennae drooped after his slip. "Oops..."

Atta marched up to Flik. "Tell me this isn't true." she fumed.

Flik fumbled for an explanation but couldn't get the words out. The colony began fretting about how there wasn't enough food; the last leaf was about to fall, and what would happen if Hopper found out.

Then the queen interjected. "Hopper will never find out! We are going to hide all of this and pretend it never happened! You circus bugs were never here, so I suggest you all leave!"

"But the bird! The bird will work!" insisted Flik.

But the entire colony was too angry to believe anything he would say anymore. "Flik, you've disappointed me," the queen said in a low, harsh voice. "I never believed I would see the day where a single ant would put himself before his entire colony. But that's not all," She pointed to Sora and Steven. "Both of you had this information and never told us. Why?"

Steven walked forward as calmly as possible. "Now see here; after careful consideration, we were left with two options. Surrender and be humiliated, or fight back." He looked around to the colony. "Now, I'd be very interested to see how many of you are really willing to surrender."

The entire colony raised their hands. Steven stumbled backwards in surprise. He crossed his arms and frowned. "Well, I see I'm wasting my time here."

The queen shot him a glare. "The point is that you all lied to us."

Flik stuttered in protest. "N-no! I-I-"

"You lied, Flik!" Atta stepped trough the crowd and headed for Flik. "You lied to her! You lied to the colony! You lied to me!" She was on the verge of tears. "We were idiots to believe you."

Flik's voice was weak as he replied. "But I was just afraid that...I didn't know I'd gotten circus bugs..." He sighed. "I just wanted to make a difference..."

Atta choked back her emotions as she ordered. "I want you all to leave. And this time; don't come back."

This completely shattered Flik. His one chance to make a difference and he did what he always did: He screwed up. And he paid the price. He solemnly walked away. Sora, Steven, and the circus bugs followed him in the same manner as they piled into the caravan.

* * *

As the moon shined throughout the night, the last leaf left on the tree trembled, blew in the wind, until finally...it broke from the tree and fell to the ground. The grasshoppers were going to be there soon and the ants were powerless.

* * *

The last few ants in line deposited their food on the leaf. Atta eyed the small pile of food. "That's it? There's no more food left on the island?"

Thorny sighed miserably. "If we give up any more than this, we'll starve."

"Hopper will never accept this!" panicked Atta.

An all too familiar buzzing noise...then slow footsteps moving through the fog. The form of one grasshopper, then another, and several more became visible. Then one lone grasshopper grabbed their offering and flew above their heads with it.

"You little termites!" shouted Hopper. "I give you a second chance, and this is all I get!

He chucked the offering towards the crowd of scared ants. They dispersed as the leaf crashed to the ground and the food flew everywhere.

"But Hopper," cried Atta. "We ran out of time!"

Hopper looked incredulously at the colony. "Have you been playing all summer? You think I was kidding around?"

"No, no, please!" pleaded Atta.

"If this is a game to you," growled Hopper, whispering menacingly. "You just lost."

And with that, the ants were surrounded by grasshoppers and herded around like sheep.

"Not one ant sleeps until we get every scrap of food on this island!" declared Hopper.

Molt waved his arms motioning them to move. "Just do what he says. You don't wanna make him mad. Believe me!"

The Queen rushed to follow her colony, but Hopper landed in her way, wagging his finger. "No, no, no. You're staying with me, Your Highness."

* * *

The Blueberry Scouts, terrified, ran to their clubhouse in a stalk of grass. Two grasshoppers walked by it, and one of them almost caught sight of Dot. But she quickly retreated farther inside. But her Blueberry Scout bandana dropped and the grasshopper found it.

He didn't notice the entrance though, so he just put it on like a hat. He chuckled. "Cool. Hey, how do I look?"

"Like an idiot." grumbled the other.

"Well, I dunno! Maybe it'll keep me dry in the rain."

"You moron!" The other grasshopper smacked the one with the hat. "We'll be out of here before it rains! Didn't you hear Hopper? After the ants finish picking all the food, he's gonna squish the queen to remind 'em who's boss! Then she's dead, they cry, boo-hoo, we go home. End of story!"

"Ohhh," realized the first. "Cool! I love this job!"

Dot gasped. They were going to kill her mother! She slid down into the hideout, where her fellow Scouts were hiding. "Stay here. I'm gonna get help!"

With that, she snuck out of the clubhouse. She checked to make sure no grasshoppers were in the area and began running. But she wasn't paying attention in front of her. She ran into a leg. She looked up and was terrified to see Thumper, the all too terrifying grasshopper. Insane, too.

She ran as fast as she could, Thumper in hot pursuit. She slid down a spiky flower, and then let it loose at Thumper. That slowed him down, but he came back more pissed off than ever.

The chase brought her to the edge of the cliff, which she nearly tumbled over. She stared down into the fog, not even able to know how long the fall would be. She tried her last resort, the appendages on her back flapping. "Come on wings, fly! Fly!"

But Thumper burst out of the clearing, and with a final shriek, knocked Dot over the edge, screaming. Smiling for the first time in a while, Thumper started flying back to the anthill.

Dot slowly opened her eyes. She fell, but she wasn't falling now. She looked on her back. Her wings had grown in! She was flying! "Yes!" In a hurry, she flew to fetch help.

* * *

At the caravan, everybody was let down for different reasons. But Flik had definitely been hit the hardest.

The circus bugs tried to cheer him up.

"Don't worry, Flik," comforted Heimlich. "The circus life isn't so bad!" Flik glanced over.

"Yes," agreed Slim. "You can be part of our act."

Francis smacked Slim, who spun around several times before landing stiffly in Francis' arms. "Slap-stick!" He chuckled. "Get it? I'm a walking stick!"

Flik just turned away. He listened to the sound of nature. The wind blowing through the grass, the caravan bumping over the rocks, somebody calling his name-

Wait...his name? "Dot?"

He looked up to see the young princess flying towards the caravan. "Guys, wait!" She landed roughly in the caravan.

Flik rushed over. "Dot, what are you doing here?"

"You...have to come back," panted Dot. "Hopper moved into the anthill and his gang is eating everything we have!" Everybody gasped. But that wasn't the worst of it. "And I heard this grasshopper say that when they're finished, Hopper's gonna squish my mom!"

Everyone gasped again. "No!" cried Heimlich.

"We can't let them kill the queen!" agreed Sora.

"We gotta do something!" yelled Rosie. "C'mon guys, think!"

Steven grabbed his head. "I'm thinking as hard as I can!" he yelled. "And it hurts my brain!" Just as suddenly as his brain had begun to hurt, the lightbulb in his brain turned on. "I got it!"

"I know," suggested Gypsy.

"The bird!" they said simultaneously.

The other bugs came into agreement immediately. "Yes, of course!" cried Manny.

"It's brilliant!" said Slim.

"The bird won't work."

These words came from a most unexpected source: Flik

"What're you talking about?" Francis asked. "It was your idea!"

"But Flik," asked a confused Dot. "You said-"

"Look Dot," explained Flik. "Forget everything I've told you, alright? Face it, the colony's right, I make things worse. That bird is no different than me; A guaranteed failure."

"Listen to me, my boy," said Manny. "I've made a living as a failure, and you, sir, are _not _a failure."

"Come on, Flik," said Rosie. "You've done a lot of good things."

"Really?" asked Flik, not sounding convinced. "Show me one good thing I've done right."

There was a moment of silence before Dim spoke. "Us."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" said Tuck and Roll.

Manny clasped hands with his beatiful wife, Gypsy. "You've rekindled the long dormant embers of purpose in our lives."

"And if it wasn't for you, Francis would never have gotten in touch with his feminine side." added Slim.

Francis flew to Slim's level, brandishing a fist. "Oh yeah?" After a second, he sighed and unclenched it. "You know what? He's right."

Gypsy saluted him. "Lieutenant Gypsy reporting for duty!"

"Say the word and we'll gladly follow you into battle!" grinned Steven. "Just as long as I can still yell 'charge!'."

Sora nodded. "They may not believe in you, Flik. But we do."

"Please, Flik?" mumbled Dot.

Flik gazed at her sadly and turned away.

Determined, Dot flew out of the caravan and came back holding a small round object; a rock. She set it down in front of Flik. "Pretend it's a seed, okay?"

A glimpse of light entered the caravan as Flik smiled. "Thanks, Dot."

She grinned before walking over to him. Her small arms wrapped around his waist in a hug. He hugged her back, still smiling.

Francis eyed the rock with a confused look. "What's the rock for?" he whispered to Slim.

Slim shrugged. "Must be an ant thing." He turned to Steven. "Hey Steven, what's with the rock?"

Steven raised his eyebrow. "Why would I know?"

Flik stood up. "Alright," he declared. "Let's do it!"

"That's the Flik we know and love." said Gyspy.

"So what do we do first?" asked Rosie.

* * *

P.T drove the caravan in the path leading to the circus, singing about money. He was halted when Francis flew in front of him. "Hey, P.T, look! Money!"

P.T dropped his reins in excitement. "Where? Where?" He looked behind him. The last he saw as he screamed was a jet of web headed straight towards him.

* * *

Looking through the telescope, Flik spied on the grasshoppers as they pushed the ants in the line to move faster. "They've rounded everyone up," he whispered.

The area was temporarily illuminated by a bright yellow glow. Steven turned to the firefly emitting the glow. "Hey!" snapped Steven. "Turn your butt off!"

P.T's fireflies did so. They then looked into a caravan where there P.T was tied up, his head the only part of his body that was visible. He struggled, trying to get out. "Guys, get me out of this! I promise I'll start thinking about paying you!"

With a small smile and a wave, they closed the caravan. As Flik continued spying, he eyed the last ant in the line. "Oh no! They've finished collecting the food! We've got to get the queen now! Once she's safe, we move on Gypsy's signal. Sora, come with me."

They group retreated back into the leaves.

* * *

The grasshoppers were stuffing their face when they heard a drum roll.

"Ladies and gentlebugs! Larvae of all stages!" yelled Slim "Rub your legs together for the world's greatest bug circus!"

With that, the caravan rolled in, carrying the circus troupe as well as Steven. A catchy circus theme played on the trumpets. As it rolled towards the throne. Hopper launched himself to his feet. "Wait a minute!"

The trumpets died down. "I think I'm going to wet myself." whimpered Heimlich.

Steven nodded. "You and me both, pal."

"Hey!" yelled Hopper. "What's going on here?"

Slim chuckled nervously. "We...uh, we were invited by Princess Atta as a surprise for your arrival."

Hopper pointed his finger at Steven. "And you? Weren't you one of those so-called warriors defending this pathetic colony?"

Steven jumped off the caravan and paced around, quite calmly, to explain. "Well, after I got kicked out here, I decided the whole 'hero' thing wasn't working out, so...I joined the circus!"

As Steven and the troupe smiled with pride, Hopper just stared in disbelief for a few seconds.

"Squish 'em."

Their grins turned to frowns. The grasshoppers started up their wings. Steven summoned his Keyblade, ready to defend himself. Dim backed nervously into a small cannon. Tuck and Roll were blasted out and landed on the tip of Steven's Keyblade.

Improvising, Steven bumped his Keyblade a little bit and Tuck and Roll consistently bounced off the Keyblade and into each other, catapulting them several inches off the ground. The grasshoppers slowly settled and watched in intense interest. After one final catapult, Tuck and Roll launched higher than ever.

The grasshoppers clapped softly and Steven bowed. Though he couldn't help but feel that he'd forgotten something.

As if these thoughts were a magnet, Tuck and Roll sequently landed on his head, knocking him to the ground. But being Steven, he recovered quickly. "Don't do that, guys! C'mon!"

Tuck jumped onto one shoulder, jabbering in Japanese "Tojikomeru, baka! (Shut up, idiot!)"

Roll leaped to the other. "Kusai! (You smell!)"

Steven grabbed them and tossed them off his shoulders. "I don't understand a single word you said, but you're going to pay!" He rushed for them with his Keyblade and tried to pound them from every direction possible, but they used their professional acrobatics to dodge his blows and smack him across the face.

Their brawl halted when they heard a soft sound. It sounded like laughter. It grew and then they knew it was laughter. When it finally reached its peak, they realized that the laughter was coming from Hopper. "Watching an ant lose a fight to two bugs half his height? Now that's funny!" He and the grasshoppers sat down laughing. "I guess me and the boys could use a little entertainment. Looks like you finally did something right for once, Princess."

Slim recovered from his shock and laughed. "On with the show!"

They grasshoppers were amazed by these feats, from Tuck and Roll balancing on Dim while Rosie attacked with a whip to a skit about Heimlich wanting pie, which ended with Francis smashing it in his face.

Slim continued with a comedy act. He told jokes while he juggled. "How many roaches does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Can't tell you!" He tossed his berries into the air. "As soon as the light turns on, they scatter!" He successfully caught the falling berries as the grasshopper's laughed hysterically.

Then, by popular demand, Steven got back up to fall down by the hands of Tuck and Roll yet again.

Meanwhile, the colony glanced up at the tree to see a bunch of tiny blue forms climbing the tree. They realized the bird was still up there...the circus was just a distraction. They quickly reverted their eyes to the circus, praying the plan would work.

Even Atta had noticed. She turned back quickly and watched the circus with intense interest. Hopper noticed her shifty movements and looked towards the tree. After staring for several seconds, everything was in absolute stillness. Shrugging it off, he turned around.

* * *

Flik, Sora, and the Blueberry Scouts let out a sigh of relief. "That was close," said Sora. "I gotta say Flik, you never cease to amaze me." He tapped a small piece of wood tied to his back. "Using pieces of tree bark as camoflauge is really clever!"

Flik nodded. "Thanks, Sora. Now let's get up there and launch that bird."

* * *

Then came the finale: The Chinese Cabinet of Metamorphosis. Manny had the troupe drag a take-out box for Chinese food for the process. "Using my psychic vibrations, I'll pick the perfect volunteer."

He started humming and walking around. Molt frantically waved his arm in the air. "Oh, oh, oh! Pick me!" He placed his fingers to his head like a psychic. "I'll ask ya with my mind!"

Manny continued along the crowd until he reached Hopper and the queen. He opened his eyes. "Aha! Your Majesty!"

The queen chuckled. "Me? Really?"

Thumper, being the mental guard dog that he is, shrieked at Manny. Hopper raised one of his four arms. "No, Thumper, down! Let her go!" Hopper then chuckled. "Maybe he'll saw her in half."

Manny chanted in Chinese as the colony noticed the clouds nearing. "Oh no, not now!" whimpered Dr. Flora.

"If it rains, the bird will be ripped to shreds!" whispered Mr. Soil.

"Quiet!" hushed Thorny. "You want Hopper to find out?"

The others ceased talking immediately.

Everyone except Manny retreated behind the caravan. The Dim's shell opened to reveal the queen, peeping out. Francis shook his head. "Don't worry. Just stay in there Your Majesty." She retreated back inside.

Manny waved his hands around. "And now: Insectus Transformatus!"

With a lift of his arms, the Chinese container burst open and out flew Gypsy! The grasshopper's 'Ooooo'd' and 'Aaaaaa'd'.

Gypsy turned to face them and waved. "Pretty~" gushed Molt.

Gypsy touched down next to her husband and she flapped her wings as she bowed. "Thank you, thank you!"

* * *

From the top of the tree, Sora peered through the telescope and watched as Gypsy bowed, flapping her wings. He turned to his companions. "Guys! It's the signal!" As Sora rushed inside the bird, two of the scouts pulled aside two supports that held a rock in place. The rock began to roll down the crack in the wood for a few inches before coming to a halt.

"It's stuck!" cried a boy. Sora slapped his palm against his forehead.

* * *

Meanwhile, the circus was a huge hit. Molt was still clapping with much enthusiasm on the transformation trick. "That was just amazing! How do they do that? I have absolutely no clue where the queen is!"

Hopper jolted in his seat when he realized the same thing. "Wait a minute!" Everybody halted. "Where's the queen?"

Manny shot a brief glance to the tree, hoping the bird would come out soon. "Um...well, you see, I'm afraid-"

Gypsy flew and landed in front of her husband. "I'm sorry, but a good magician must never reveal his secrets."

Steven popped out of nowhere. "Duh!"

"That's true, Hop," Molt pointed out. "I mean, where would the mystery be if we all knew how it was done? Seriously, that's not a fun show to-" A grain collided with the side of his head, thrown by Hopper. "Shutting up."

* * *

Up in the tree, the bird was still suffering technical difficulties. The rock would not budge and without it, the last support for the bird could not be removed.

Sora grunted as he leaned out the beak as far as he could to point his Keyblade at the support. "I can't get a good shot from here!" He shouted down to the scouts. "You need to knock that one loose with something.

"We don't have anything up here!" retorted one of the boys.

Sora looked around frantically until his eyes flew to his Keyblade. He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Hit it with this!"

He tossed his Keyblade to the feet of the boys, who both struggled to pick it up. Despite the qualifications needed to wield a Keyblade, apparently it was no big deal to lend it for a few seconds. The boys hammered at the final stick, shaped like a 'Y'.

"Come on, guys!" encouraged Flik. "Hit it hard!"

The two boys panted from exhaustion. Then they gathered all their strength and swung the Keyblade one final time.

The stick creaked as it fell over and the giant wooden machine began rumbling as it slid out of the tree. Sora reached his hand out the beak to return the Keyblade to him. "Nice work, guys!"

* * *

The entire gang began marching towards the troupe. "I said where is she?" shouted Hopper.

As he advanced towards Manny, Steven leaped in front of him and summoned his Keyblade. "Get back!"

The grasshoppers paused before laughing at this futile attempt to fight them. "Really, kid?" asked Hopper. "You really want to try fighting us?"

Steven shrugged. "Some have said it couldn't be done." Then he smiled. "So here's my chance to test that theory."

"Look around, kid!" Hopper gestured to his entire gang. "There's about fifty of us and one of you!"

"I know," agreed Steven. "An even match, wouldn't you say?"

Hopper growled and began stomping towards Steven. "You're gonna pay for that, you little-"

Hopper paused as he heard a small shriek. He looked behind him to see a fluttering mass with a pointed beak heading straight for him. "BIRD!" he yelled. The grasshoppers ducked down to avoid it. The rest of the colony stared in disbelief that the plan had actually worked. Without further ado, they started up a riot.

The bird worked marvelously. The grasshoppers dived down to prevent themselves from getting flattened by the giant mass of sticks and leaves. Some of them decided to run away. Even Hopper screamed "Don't let it get me!" Flik just laughed the whole time. So did the queen, peeking briefly out of Dim's shell.

The bugs decided to try a new trick. They smashed berries over their heads to make it look like the bird got them. Hopper screamed at everything. Then he came to a caterpillar that only had to tendrils poking out. He had been "beheaded". Hopper ran away after that. Heimlich's head popped out after that. "Mmm, boysenberry."

Flik peered out the eyes of the bird and was shocked to see the caravan directly in the path of the bird. He frantically tried to steer away from it. "Ah! No, no, no!"

Then the worst possible thing happened. They accidentally hit the caravan with the bird and P.T was freed from the web. He looked up and gasped. He thought the bird was real too! He looked over to Manny, who was covered in berry juice. "Oh, the pain..." He slumped to the ground, mocking death.

"My magic act is gone!" P.T cried. He hopped over to his matchbox and took one out. "Flaming Death!"

Slim spotted the flea and desperately ran towards him. "No, P.T!"

He was too late though. P.T jumped through the air and landed on a tube of toothpaste and busted the cap off. Toothpaste streamed out, and he placed the match over the stream. As the bird came down, it flew into the path of fire and immediately caught a spark.

Flik released the steering gears and rushed back to help the Blueberry scouts. "Sora, can you do anything?"

Sora whacked the fire in a futile effort to dampen the flames. "I can't! I can make fire, but I can't put it out!"

Hopper looked around trying to spot the bird. As he glanced to the sky, he saw it spinning in circles, its tail on fire. With a growl, he realized he'd been tricked. So he snapped all of his fingers at once. Hundreds of Heartless immediately appeared and surrounded the ants.

Steven dismissed his Keyblade and pulled out a white flag and smiled hopefully. "Maybe we can talk about this?"

Then the bird came diving down to the base of the anthill, uplifting several pebbles from the foundation. A small slit appeared the the side as Sora cut through, making way for the kids. He bent over, coughing from inhaling the thick smoke.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain tugging on his head. Hopper held his antennae as he shouted to the colony. "Who's idea was this?" He was met with silence. "Was it yours, Princess?"

In spite of the flames, Atta shivered as Hopper walked towards her.

"Leave her alone, Hopper!" Hopper turned to see Flik jump out of the beak of the crippled bird machine. "The bird was my idea! I'm the one you want!"

Hopper shoved Sora to the ground and snapped his fingers. Thumper came out and began kicking Flik around. It was very intense to watch. Hopper snapped his fingers again to call Thumper off. Flik was in bad condition: beaten, bruised, he even had a black eye.

"Where do you get the gall to do this to me?" Hopper growled.

Flik struggled to get up. "You….you were gonna squish the queen."

A gasp was heard throughout the crowd. "It's true," said Dot.

Hopper sighed. "I hate it when someone gives away the ending," He used his foot to push Flik into the ground further. "You piece of dirt. No, I'm wrong. You're lower than dirt! You're an ant!" He turned to the colony. "Let this be an example to all you ants! Ideas are very dangerous things! You are mindless, soil-shoving losers, put on this earth to serve us!"

The colony looked downward without confidence. What chance did they stand against these grasshoppers and their Heartless?

"You're wrong, Hopper."

They looked to see Flik rising to his feet with great difficulty. He spoke in a raspy voice as he defied Hopper yet again. "Ants are not meant to serve grasshoppers.

With an angry look, Hopper marched towards Flik. This did not put an end to Flik revealing the truth. "I've seen these ants do great things! And year after year, they somehow manage to pick food for themselves and you! So who's the weaker species, huh? Ants don't serve grasshoppers! It's you who need us!"

There was murmur throughout the crowd. Hopper stopped. They ants were figuring it out. They outnumbered the grasshoppers by a very uncomfortable amount. "We're much stronger than you say we are." said Flik. Hopper glared at Flik, but he was unable to hide the surprised look on his face. That's when Flik finally figured it out. "And you know it...don't you?"

With a growl, Hopper punched Flik, slamming him back to the ground. He readied his foot to make an example out of this one. He brought his foot down.

His assault was halted as Atta jumped in front of Flik and Sora stuck his Keyblade out in front of his foot. Hopper chuckled. "Well, well, well, who do we have here?"

"Uh, Hopper?" Molt stuttered. "I don't want to interrupt, but-"

Hopper looked. Every bug in the vicinity eyed him with an angry stare. "You ants better stay back!"

The ants crossed their arms. They were done with this oppression. Most of the other grasshoppers began backing away slowly. "I told you this was a bad idea..." whimpered Molt.

"You see, Hopper," Atta explained. "Nature has a certain order. The ants pick the food; the ants _keep _the food, and the grasshoppers-" She leaned her face into Hopper's. "-Leave!"

Steven took head of the crowd. "Alright! This is the third time I've had to do this, so I want it done right. You guys ready?"

"YEAH!" was the crowds response.

Steven smiled. "I thought so." And he shouted this word for the third time, as he promised. "CHAAAAAAAAARGE!" The ants joined in his war frenzy and most of the grasshoppers fled on sight. The Heartless didn't even present a problem anymore. Not only were there so many ants, but Steven and Sora were there, easily cutting down every one with their Keyblades.

Thumper landed in front of Dot and shrieked, but Dot just slapped him like a dog. "No, bad grasshopper! Bad grasshopper! Go home!

Then he shrieked again. But Dim landed behind Dot and roared. Thumper retreated with, not a shriek, but a scream. Dim and Dot chuckled before doing a high-five.

In the meantime, Hopper screamed to the sky. "Come back, you cowards! Don't leave!"

But the ants grabbed Hopper and carried him away. "To the cannon!" cried Flik. The rest of the ants cheered and shoved him snugly into the cannon. Hopper looked around to see, P.T, the circus bugs, the Keybladers...heck, just about everybody cheering. Rosie started up the drum roll. Dim took position on the rock for his jump.

Hopper just stared at Flik in surprise and shock. Flik saluted him."Happy landing, Hopper."

Dim was about to jump when they saw a big light in the sky. It was accompanied by a big "boom" sound. They looked around, and then saw through the riverbed, a giant stream of water headed straight for them as well as several drops coming from above them. Flik's smile disappeared.

"RAIN!"

The ants panicked on purpose now. They flooded into the anthill as fast as the rain fell. A drop knocked Hopper off of his perch and Dim off of his. Hopper looked to see Atta helping Flik get up. He growled quite loudly. Dim finished his fall. The giant beetle landed on the cannon. Hopper was partially free and started up his wings the instant he was shot out. He headed straight for Flik and snatched him up as he flew off.

"Flik!"

Just as Sora and Steven obliterated the last few Heartless, they looked up to see Hopper flying away from the island. "Oh, no you don't!" yelled Sora.

Francis grabbed Slim. "Quick!" urged Slim. "After them!"

Sora and Steven, as well as Tuck, Roll and Rosie, jumped on Dim, and with a cry from Heimlich, they began the pursuit.

Francis and Slim dropped out of the chase quickly, when Francis accidently flew through a branch and was now holding a real stick instead of a talking one, and couldn't find the only stick with eyeballs.

Dim charged even faster towards Hopper as Rosie tied a web rope to Tuck and Roll. She twirled the rope like a lasso and slung it at Hopper. The two pillbugs landed on his head and began tugging at his antennae and throwing off his flight pattern. But then a small, triangle-shaped array of branches got Dim stuck and yanked Tuck and Roll back.

They'd failed. Flik held out his hand in despair. "Noooo!"

Steven smacked his fist on Dim's shell. "How could we let this happen? We were so close!" He heard a noise from below and recognized it as Tuck and Roll's hysterical laughter. "What's so funny?" He slid off of Dim and climbed to a branch just below them and saw that they'd managed to detach one of Hopper's antennae.

He could hardly contain his laughter after that.

Sora tried to think of an alternate way to get across. He thought back to everything here. The bird, the party, the gathering-

The party. The attraction where Dim had launched kids into web. But Dim was in no position to do that. He needed something stretchy.

He needed web.

"Rosie, make a catapult!" he yelled as he began cutting through the branches.

* * *

Flik was getting farther away by the second. While Hopper looked back angrily, he felt Flik pulled out of his grasp. Atta had flown ahead and pulled him out. Hopper growled again and began chasing.

"Atta, go that way!" He pointed back in the direction of Hopper.

Atta stared at him with wide eyes. "Are you crazy? The anthill's-"

"Trust me," assured Flik. "I have an idea!"

Having learned to trust Flik's ideas, Atta turned back, maneuvering around Hopper as she flew. They went across the riverbed, and landed in a familiar area. An area where they'd previously run from, because of a feather.

Flik hid Atta behind a rock. "No matter what happens, stay down!" Flik ran towards the ledge, only to have Hopper descend to the ground in front of him. "Hopper!"

"You think it's over?" hissed Hopper. "All your little stunt did was buy them another year."

"Please, Hopper! Don't-"

Hopper wrapped his hands around Flik's skinny throat and began squeezing as hard as he could. "I'll get more grasshoppers and be back next season! But you won't!"

"Hey, Hopper!"

Hopper dropped Flik in time to see Sora flying through the air, straight for him. "Want a piece of me?" Hopper dropped Flik and flew straight for Sora. The boy summoned his Keyblade in midair and whacked Hopper as hard as he could, knocking him towards the ground. Flik rushed behind the rock where Atta was hidden to watch.

Hopper grumbled and broke a large stick off of the mass of kindle behind him and rushed towards Sora. He struck relentlessly, pushing Sora back, towards the edge of the cliff. Sora bent down to a knees and held Hopper's stick in place as it threatened to push him off.

With one final shove, Sora slid backwards. He let go of the Keyblade, letting it fall to the floor of the riverbed as he grabbed the ledge with both hands. He peered up to see Hopper smiling down at him. "I always knew it, kid," Hopper said with confidence in his voice. "Maleficent was right. You can't beat me." He smashed his foot on Sora's left hand, leaving Sora with only one hand between the cliff and oblivion.

Sora smiled back up at him. "I don't need to win. I was just tenderizing the meat." With a wave, the Keyblade-wielding ant let go of the edge and fell towards the riverbed. Hopper watched in shock as Dim flew below him.

Rosie, riding on his back, quickly formed a web rope and launched it at Sora. He caught it and twisted it around his wrist to secure it. Hopper continued to stare until he felt a large thump on his head. He crashed to the ground as Flik tossed a piece of kindle aside. Atta grabbed Flik's arms and began flying as fast as she could away from the area.

Hopper formed a fist and slammed it against the ground. He swore revenge on those bugs when he returned to his former glory and power.

Still, Sora's final words before escaping tugged at his mind.

"_I don't need to win. I was tenderizing the meat_."

A chirp behind him confirmed his fears. He looked up to see a bird. This time, it was living. He screamed loudly and hopped everywhere, trying to get away. But the bird was bigger, faster, and stronger. With one peck, it had him in his beak. As it tilted its head back, Hopper raised his hand towards the sky.

His final scream was heard all the way back at the island.

* * *

Back on Ant Island, the ants were celebrating. As well they should be. Their oppression from Hopper was finally over. No longer would they have to be pushed around by him and his gang, or any other bugs for that matter. The bad news about this: Sora, Steven, and the circus bugs had to leave. Their work was done here.

Rosie walked Dim towards the caravan and suddenly stopped. "Dim..." she said sternly. Dim groaned as he opened his wings, revealing a bunch of crying ant children. This caused Rosie to emit a couple of tears. "I'm really sorry, kids. I wish you could come, too."

Meanwhile, the Blueberries cried at the departure of their den-mother. Francis struggled not to follow suit. "I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna-" He burst into tears and hugged the scouts. "I'm gonna miss you, Blueberries!"

"Come on, crybabies!" urged P.T. "Let's get this show on the road!" Several ants who had decided to join the circus cartwheeled into the caravan. "You too, Tiny! We got paying customers to get to!"

Molt walked up the ramp of the caravan. Having shed his brown shell for green skin, he had almost literally turned over a new leaf and decided to join the circus. "Yes, Mr. Flea, right away sir. And I just wanna thank you for giving me a chance, because it's an honor to work with creative guys such as yourself!" They shut the caravan door and his voice became muffled. "Shutting up!"

P.T jumped on top of the caravan and turned to Flik, Sora, and Riku. "You guys sure you don't wanna come on tour with us?"

Sora shook his head with a grin ."Sorry, but we're travelers. And being travelers, we need to keep traveling."

"Rest assured," added Steven. "I'll always remember my brief experience in your circus. It was amazing!"

P.T nodded gratefully. "Thanks buddy. That means a lot to me." He turned to Flik. "What about you?"

Flik shrugged. "Sorry, but my place is here."

Atta placed an arm around his shoulder. "Good answer.

P.T shrugged. "Oh well, your loss. One minute, insects!"

Atta walked up the Sora and Steven. She stuttered for a moment. "I, uh...oh, never mind!" And she flung her arms around both of them. "We'll never be able to thank you enough. You gave us back our dignity, our hope, and our lives."

The duo patted her on the back. "Your welcome," said Sora.

"It's what we do," added Steven.

Atta proceeded to thank the circus bugs as well. "And you guys, too. Thank you so much."

Slim bowed. "And, to you, Princess Atta. You have given us so much."

Each party exchanged a tearful good-bye. P.T started to cry from just watching it. "Alright, now it's getting mushy. We're out of here!"

He started up his centipedes, and began to move. But then Dim picked up the caravan and they began flying away. "See you next season!" yelled Rosie. "We miss you already!"

"See ya, Flik!" called Francis.

"You're fired!" screamed Tuck and Roll.

Slim waved, and then gasped. "We forgot Heimlich!"

And so, everybody's attention was drawn to a cocoon hanging under a low branch. It burst open and a familiar plump face peeked out. "I'm finished!" realized Heimlich. "Finally, I'm a beautiful butterfly!" He squeezed himself out of the cocoon. He was now turquoise, but still plump as ever. He squeezed more, and two tiny wings popped out. They weren't big enough to get him flying, though. That didn't stop his excitement at having them. "My wings! Oh, they're beautiful!" Manny and Gypsy touched down next to him and lifted him off the ground and continued flying away. "Al fetersen!

Flik waved. "Bye!"

Atta and Dot then flew him up to the wood tunnel to get a better view of the show.

The show was a squadron of harvesters, all using Flik's machines, led by Thorny. They chopped downs stalks of grain and launched them into the air. Sora and Steven fired Fire spells into the fray to create a firework effect. Lights of several colors came off the explosions and it was just a breathtaking sight indeed.

Amidst the explosions of grain, a bright light began forming in the sky. Any stray leaves lingered to the mass of light, revealing a giant shape Sora knew all too well. He raised his Keyblade and it shot a beam of light into the keyhole. A locking noise told him that the heart of this world would never fall to the Heartless. With their help needed elsewhere, beams of light struck the surface of Ant Island, returning Steven and Sora to the Gummi Ship.

* * *

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	5. Revelation and Misunderstanding

The bursts of light appeared on the deck of the Gummi Ship. Sora and Steven shook off the light-headed feeling they had gained from materializing on the ship.

"Not bad for the first world, Steven." said Sora, shaking his hand. "I guess you will make my job easier when you go solo."

Steven started up the engine. "Yeah, man. By the way, I loved that catapult idea you came up with! If Flik wasn't gone at that moment, I would swear that it was his idea!"

He typed in a few requests on the computer. Sora peered over his shoulder. "So how does this work?"

Steven continued his computing as he explained. "Well, we're basically headed for several destinations, one after the other. Somewhere along these pathways, we retrieve one Princess of Heart. After that, we bring them to Disney Castle for protection. After getting both of them to Disney Castle, we go out there and finish whatever's left."

Sora nodded. "Good plan."

After a moment of silence, Sora sighed. He had some questions on his mind that really needed answering. "Steven, I've been kind of wondering for a while," Sora took a deep breath before continuing. "What world are you from and how did you get from there to here?"

There was dead silence for a few seconds.

"Sora," began Steven.

Sora squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the worst to come.

"Why're you acting so nervous?"

Sora slowly opened his eyes. "Huh?"

Steven flicked the auto-pilot switch and turned his chair around. "It's not a very delicate situation, Sora. I don't mind talking about it."

Sora let out the breath he'd been holding. "Well, that's a relief."

"However," added Steven. "I don't think I want to tell you the name of the world."

"Why?" asked Sora.

"You'll make fun of me." replied Steven.

"What?" Sora laughed. "That's not true."

"No, I'm serious!" insisted Steven. "The name is like....I don't know, something out of a fairy tale or something."

Sora just kept laughing. "Everything I've been through is like a fairy tale."

Steven pondered this. Then he smiled. "Oh yeah, like saving your true love from certain danger, right?"

Sora nodded. "Yep! I-" He stumbled a bit when he realized what he had just said. "Wait, what? I'm not in love!"

"Riiiiiight....." teased Steven. "You think I didn't see what was going on between you and Kairi right before you left?"

Sora's face turned bright red. Whether it was from embarassment or anger was unclear. "Don't change the subject!"

Steven laughed. "Alright, I've had my laugh. Anyways, I was a loner, just living in several different places until the pathways between worlds became a reality. As for the name of my world.......it was called Enchanted Dominion."

Sora shook his head. "See? I told you I wouldn't make fun of you."

Steven nodded. "Okay, you were right. But that's not the worst of it." He paused. "I don't even know the truth behind the issue, but it's been bugging me for most of my life."

This just raised even more questions in Sora's mind. "What happened?"

Steven shrugged. "I'm not sure. Like I said, I lived in several places. At first, people were afraid of me and I couldn't ever find out why. But every so often, a few families took me in at different times, as if they were trying to hide me from somebody."

He paced around in heavy thought. "When I met King Mickey, he did some research and found out some stuff. The people who took me in were hiding me from somebody."

Sora was immensely curious now. "Who?"

"Maleficent."

Sora jumped a little at hearing her name, but he wasn't too surprised. "Why was she after you?"

"According to Mickey's research," continued Steven, "I possessed some kind of power that she needed." He held out his hand and his obsidian Keyblade appeared in his hand. "I can only assume that she wanted this."

"Probably," agreed Sora. "She'd have a huge advantage with Keyblade wielder working for her. Do you think that she would've been able to sway you at that age?"

Steven dipped his head a little lower. "If by 'that age', you mean 'my entire life up until I began traveling other worlds', then yes, she probably could've. People protected me, but they treated me like I was their enemy even though I hadn't done anything. And I couldn't get them to explain why. That made me pretty mad. I probably would've been swayed towards anyone who would treat me well."

Then he remembered something else. "Although, every now and then, I found a strange piece of material shaped like a cube lying around in the outskirts of town. Eventually, I found out what they were and what they were used for: They were Gummi blocks, and I eventually managed to build a ship out of them."

"That's when you started traveling, I assume?" said Sora.

"Yeah," answered Steven. "I wasn't about to take that kind of crap from those people for any longer than necessary. Though I guess if Maleficent was looking for me, it would've been better to get away from there as soon as possible. After a couple years of just going around, minding my own business, I wound up in Disney Castle, I have my Keyblade, and look where I am now."

Sora could hardly believe what he heard. "Wow....how do you manage to keep such a high spirit after all you've been through?"

"Traveling, my friend," said Steven. "The people I met in other worlds were actually nice to me for a change. It was awkward at first, but I liked it. Eventually, it became a regular thing and I ended up becoming a much friendlier person. That is why I am now happy!"

Steven's mood elevated even more when a small light blinked on the dashboard. "Hey! Next world coming up!" He punched a few keys to get some information about the world. "Well, we're headed for a world called Earth. Specifically, we're going down in a region called Jump City."

Steven got out of the chair and readied the teleporter. Sora moved to the computer, slowly trying to get the hang of the keystrokes. "It says that there's a high rate of crime in the area." He continued reading with slight interest. "But it also has an equal rate of criminals being put in jail."

Steven pressed a button, finishing the preparations to head down there. "Guess they have good cops. A few more years and they'll have enough to take control. We just have to get the Heartless out of there." He headed over to the keyboard. "Ready, Sora?"

Sora nodded. "Let's do this."

Steven tapped a key and they both were enveloped in beams of light, proceeding to beam down into the world.

* * *

Two men in stereotypical burglar attire, one tall and skinny, the other short and slightly fat, headed for the door of the jewelry store, each carrying a stuffed bag. "Well, that was easy," the fat one said. "So you're sure we're in the clear?"

"Don't worry about it," assured the other. "It's just like I told ya. The tower is on the opposite side of town and we have a boat waiting at the docks, which are only a couple minutes away. They'll never be here in time."

They walked out the door when a couple of lights flashed behind them.

"Crap!" screamed the plump thief. "They got us!"

They pulled out their guns and turned, seeing Sora and Steven standing before them, clearing their heads from the teleportation. They sighed in relief. "No worries," said the skinny one. "Just a couple of teenagers.....although, they did see us."

They put up their guns again. Startled, Sora and Steven put up their hands. "Wait!" yelled Sora. "We didn't see anything! I swear!"

"Yeah....what he said!" agreed Steven.

The plump one lowered his gun slightly and thought about it. "Hmm....alright, but you guys are comin' with us. Don't try anything funny."

Sora and Steven slowly headed for the door, keeping their hands up. "What do we do, Sora?" whispered Steven, moving his mouth as little as possible.

"Just go along with it for now," replied Sora in an equally cautious manner. "We'll get them when they're off-guard."

As they robbers opened the door, a loud siren went off and they began to panic. "I'm scared, Moe," said the skinny one. "I think they'll be here faster than we first thought."

"I agree, Joe," replied Moe. "We got to get out of here! But I can't run fast with all this loot."

The two robbers exchanged a glance, then looked at Steven and Sora, who smiled innocently. They smiled back and tossed the bags at the two boys, who instinctively caught it. "Let's beat it!" they yelled. They rushed down the street and down the corner.

Sora eyed the situation skeptically. "Okay.....that was too easy."

Steven nodded, hefting the heavy bag of loot. "We better get this stuff back into the store before somebody gets the wrong idea."

They headed for the door.

"Hold it!"

The Keybladers froze in their tracks. "I spoke too soon," mumbled Steven. He and Sora turned around slowly to see five teenagers. But they were not ordinary people. They were different.....kind of like superheroes. In fact, they were superheroes.

The one who had told them to halt had spiky black hair as well as a mask on his face, covering only his eyes. His short sleeves, pants, and gloves were green and he wore black boots. He wore a yellow utility belt and cape and had a red shirt with a black circle on the chest. Inside that black circle was a large yellow R.

The second one had a suit that was purple for the shirt, but black for the sleeves and pants. His gloves and shoes were gray. His most notable feature was his skin: it was purely green. His hair was an even darker shade of green.

The third was a woman, barely visible underneath a dark blue cloak that covered all but her very pale face. The top half of her face was covered by a shadow, but her eyes were still visible.

The fourth was a tall man with slightly dark-colored skin, but only on part of his upper arms, part of his face and his neck. The rest of his body was composed of shiny metal and light-blue circuitry. One part of his face was also a machine, even having a red, cybernetic eye.

The last was an astonishingly beautiful girl with long, red hair. Her clothing consisted of a purple shirt, mini-skirt, and boots and light purple gloves. The thing that stuck out about her most was that her eyes glowed green and orbs of the same color glowed in her hands. She also floated a few feet above the ground.

After the Keybladers observed this for about five seconds, Steven began explaining. "Um.....the robbers went that way!" He pointed towards the street corner.

"Not going to work," said the pale woman in a monotonous voice.

Sora put down the bag he held and put up his hands. "I promise, we didn't steal this!"

"Save it for the judge," said the spiky-haired kid. "Titans, go!"

All five rushed for them at the same time. Steven let the bag he held drop to the ground. "There's no negotiating with these guys, Sora. Let's just get out of here!" He began running.

The caped teenager opened a small piece of metal that resembled a boomerang and tossed it towards Steven. Running the other way, Steven couldn't see it coming and it tripped him. He rolled on the pavement and skidded to a stop at the curb. "Alright, pal. You asked for it!" He summoned his Keyblade and rushed for the kid, who pulled out a long metal staff and began combatting him.

The kid with green skin suddenly transformed into a large gorilla, also green, and rushed towards the fight. As Steven was momentarily distracted by this, he felt thuds on his stomach and his face. The animal kid had landed an uppercut on his chin while the teenager with the metal bar had used his metal staff to attack his torso. Steven flew back into a building, making a few cracks in it before falling to the ground. He cursed under his breath and re-summoned his Keyblade.

Sora, meanwhile, was struggling against the other three. The cyborg kid was shooting some kind of sonic beam at him while the red-haired girl was shooting green bolts of energy at him. It took several reflect spells and agile blocking, but Sora still managed to be struck a few times. Suddenly, he felt the Keyblade fly out of his hand. He jumped away from the area, letting some more shots hit the spot he stood at before.

He looked up at the woman in the blue cloak, holding out her hand. Her eyes glowed white. He looked up and saw his Keyblade surrounded by some kind of dark-colored energy. Swinging her arm back, he saw the Keyblade fly towards the horizon, far away.

"Boo-yah!" cheered the cyborg. "Not so big without your big key, huh?" Sora didn't answer. He simply held out his hand and the Keyblade appeared in it again. His three opponents gasped and the cyborg's eyes went wide. "How did he do that?"

Sora rushed at them, deflecting green burst of energy and blue beams alike. He rushed as fast as he could and leapt into the air towards the woman with dark energy. She calmy saw him approaching and chanted something. She held out her hand.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Sora felt himself stop in mid-air. Peering down, he saw his torso and part of his arm and legs covered by the same dark energy that stole his Keyblade moments ago. She flung her arm downwards and Sora fell like a rocket, straight into the street. His muscles ached as he tried to get up. He finally pushed his upper body off the ground and attempted to stand.

Steven continued to deflect all manner of blows from the spiky-haired teenager and the green animal-man. He sliced through the staff and began to run the other way. The kid pulled another gadget out of his belt and tossed it at Steven. Expecting another boomerang, Steven jumped into the air. As he did, he saw a small disk roll in front of him. It beeped a little bit and Steven jumped forward again, hoping the explosion would push him farther away.

But it did not explode. At least, not the way he expected it to. He felt his legs being trapped by something and he lurched to a still position. He hung from something that binded his legs. Something very cold. Turning around, he was almost shocked. A block of ice kept his legs captive. Growling, he pointed his Keyblade at the mass of frozen water and used a Firaga spell, melting it.

As he plopped to the ground, he got up again and ran forward. Before too long, he felt himself trip again. He sat up and saw a green boa constrictor, obviously the teenager with green skin, wrapping around him like a rope. When his arms and legs were trapped, the snake did what it did best: it constricted, cutting off Steven's air supply. Steven trying to inhale, but he was being squeezed too tightly. After several seconds of agonzing failure to breath, the boy released him.

Steven stumbled over to where Sora was sitting, in just as much pain as him. They fell backward, barely able to move. They looked up to see the red-haired girl standing over them. Her hands glowed with the green energy she controlled. She spoke to them, putting it plain and simple.

"You have been beaten."

Then she fired. The two boys felt like they were being cooked alive as they were fried by the blasts. Fatigued and beaten, they fell into unconciousness.

* * *

The five teenagers walked over to observe the unconcious Keybladers. The green one transformed back into his semi-normal human form and began dancing around and singing. "Oh yeah! We beat 'em! Go, Beast Boy! You're awesome! Oh yeah!"

"We all played a vital part in bringing them down," reminded the woman in the blue cloak.

The green kid, apparently called Beast Boy, scoffed. "Geez, Raven. I did say 'we'. It's not like I'm taking all the credit."

"Whatever," muttered Raven.

"Either way," interjected the cyborg, "We kicked their butts! Now all we got to do is bring 'em in, right?"

"No, Cyborg."

The entire team turned to the one who spoke those words: The masked kid, who was apparently the leader. "Uh....say what?" asked the cyborg, who was aptly named Cyborg.

"It just seems a little too weird," he said. "They didn't try to make a quick escape with their loot. They also didn't try to hurt us. Not that much, at least."

"Robin?"

The masked kid turned around. "What, Starfire?"

Starfire, the girl with red hair, spoke, her eyes having turned to match normal human eyes, their shade of green matching that of her green energy, known as starbolts. "Perhaps they were not lying when they said they did not steal the jewelry?"

Robin walked over. "I was starting to think the same thing."

Starfire continued. "May I suggest a private interrogation before to bring them to prison?"

He nodded. "Let's head back to the tower. Raven, bring them back with us."

Raven nodded. She began floating in the air. Concentrating, she used her powers to envelop the unconcious Keybladers in her dark aura and began flying to the other side of town with them floating after her. Beast Boy transformed into a pterodactyl, clutched Cyborg's shoulders with his claws and followed. Robin then felt Starfire's hands close around his own arms. He was lifted into the air and they floated towards a large building on the edge of town.

The building was located on an island somewhat close to the city. The island was a few miles from the shore, out towards where the water became deep as the ocean stretched on. Landing on that island, they entered the building. It wasn't just a building though. It was a tower. A tall tower that was literally a giant T.

* * *

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	6. The Teen Titans

His eyes flickered between black and his surroundings until Sora finally managed to open his eyes. He found himself lying on a bed, tied to several devices that stuck inside his body, but nothing restrained him. He looked around and saw several pieces of equipment that seemed to check his pulse, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Sora was very confused. It seemed like only a moment ago that he fell unconcious and now it seemed like he was in a hospital. He looked over to see Steven sleeping on a second bed, attached to the same equipment that he was.

Then Sora heard a sound well up from inside Steven. Looking over, he saw his friend begin to stir a little bit until he fully opened his eyes and saw Sora laying across from him. They both sat up and looked at each other.

"Where are we?" asked Steven.

Sora shrugged. "I wish I knew. Last thing I remember is being fried by that girl and then I woke up here."

"I got it!" exclaimed Steven. "Those guys thought we robbed the jewelry store, so that means-" He quickly thought of a conclusion and panicked. "We're in jail!"

"I don't think so," said Sora. "It looks more like a hospital."

"Prisons have doctors," Steven pointed out.

"You're not in jail."

Sora and Steven turned to the doorway of the room to see the spiky-haired boy who had led the teenagers who fought them. "You're in our infirmary, but Cyborg says you're okay now. Follow me."

Steven stepped off of the bed and starting carefully removing the medical attachments from his skin. "Why? So you can bring us in?"

"No," said the boy. "We just have some questions we need to ask you. Besides, if we were really taking you to jail, don't you think you'd be in handcuffs by now?"

The Keybladers remained silent. They really didn't have an argument for that logic. Sora removed his own attachments from his body and hopped off of the bed. They followed the boy down the hallway. When they reached the end, they turned a corner and stopped. The boy pushed a button on the wall and a door next to it slid aside, leading inside a pitch-dark room.

As they walked inside, the lights suddenly came on. They covered their eyes at the sudden illumination. When their eyes adjusted to the brightness, they removed their arms to see the other four teenagers standing before them.

The spiky-haired boy took a spot next to his companions. "Alright, I'm going to cut straight to the point. You claim you weren't stealing jewelry from that store, so why were you there, holding the stolen property?"

"The real robbers saw us in the store," explained Sora. "So they led us outside at gunpoint. When we got outside, the store alarm went off."

"Then they started panicking," added Steven. "They said something like 'they'll be here faster than we thought' and that they wouldn't be able to get away fast enough if they had the jewelry."

"So they chucked the bags at us and took off," finished Sora.

The boy nodded. "And how did you get inside of the jewelry store?"

Steven started speaking. "Well, we-"

Sora immediately slapped his hand over Steven's mouth, trying not to break the rules of world order. The spiky-haired boy raised an eyebrow and frowned. "I don't know why you're trying to keep this information from us, but we need to know what's going on."

"Sorry," apologized Sora. "But we really aren't supposed to talk about this."

The kid sighed. "I didn't want it to come to this." He turned to the woman in the blue cloak. "Raven, you're going to have to do it."

The woman nodded. She closed her eyes and began muttering something under her breath.

Steven pulled Sora's hand off his mouth. "What's she doing?"

The boy turned to the Keybladers. "Getting the answers we need."

The two watched helplessly as dark energy in the form of a bird came from the girl and headed straight for them. It split in two and phased through their heads and into their minds.

They tried as hard as they could to resist, but their entire lives flashed before them as the woman delved into their memories.

Sora's time on the islands......

Steven's life in Enchanted Dominion......

Sora's friends and enemies, his travels through other worlds.......

Steven's travels and eventual rise in optimism......

A final flash of Sora and Steven's current friendship and partnership, including the robbery, as well as their appearance in the jewelry store.......

And then they were back in the room.

The woman in blue took a deep breath, exhausted from seeing the minds of two people at one time. "Raven?" The kid with spiky hair turned towards her. "Did you find out how they got in?"

She nodded. "All that and more. These two are from different worlds."

Sora lurched when she said that. "Oh no! We broke the rules of world order!"

Steven rolled his eyes. "Big deal!....Uh, what are the rules of world order?"

Sora grabbed Steven's shoulders and shook him, making his head sway. "People aren't supposed to know we're from other worlds!"

Noticing his reaction, the kid with green skin walked over and put his arm around Sora's shoulders to reassure him. "It's no biggie, dude. We know there are other worlds out there."

Sora instantly felt relief. "Really?"

"Indeed, we do," nodded the girl with red hair. "I myself come from a planet called Tamaran."

Given this new freedom of speech, Steven started talking. "In that case, here's what happened; We teleported down here from the ship that we use to travel to different worlds."

The spiky-haired kid nodded. "I see. And the robbery?"

"They're innocent," confirmed the woman in blue. "The robbers really did pull a toss-and-run on them." She crossed her arms. "I don't have any more questions."

The spiky-haired boy nodded. "Same here."

"I do," The cyborg stepped forward. "You used some weird kind of weapons. What are they?"

The two exchanged a glance before summoning their Keyblades.

"They're called Keyblades," said Sora. "We were chosen by them to protect the worlds from evil, mostly the Heartless."

"What are Heartless?" asked the cyborg.

"Creatures made from the darkness of people's hearts," explained Steven. "They run around attacking people, trying to take their hearts. If they do, it creates even more of them."

The cyborg raised his eyebrow in disbelief. He turned to Raven. She nodded, sending a silent message that what they said was true. He smiled. "Alright, that's all."

The woman with red hair, suddenly looking serious, marched to the Keybladers. "I have some questions that I intend to have answered immediately." The Keybladers gulped nervously.

Suddenly, her mood swung from serious and stern to eager and excited. She fired off questions at the boys and acted like Kairi did before Sora left. She leaned forward with each question, causing them to lean back at an equal pace. "What are your names? Where are you from? What are your favorite colors? Would you like to be my friends?"

The two boys answered while standing at a ninety-degree angle.

"Uh.....Steven," answered Steven.

"Sora," said Sora.

"Enchanted Dominion."

"Destiny Islands."

"Blue."

"Red."

"And.....sure?" they finished together.

As she opened up her arms, they somewhat expected the hug. But when it came, they did not expect it to crack their spines, push all the air out of their lungs and turn their faces blue from lack of air. "Hello, my new friends!"

The two breathed heavily after the experience. Steven leaned forward, snapping his spine back into place. Sora grasped his arm and stretched it out, as the hug had also irregulated those bones. "Nice to meet you, too." Sora said, out of breath.

The team stepped forward to introduce themselves, starting with the red-haired girl. "My name is Starfire."

"Call me Beast Boy," grinned the green skinned teen. "I'm the funny guy,"

"Name's Cyborg," said the cyborg.

"Raven," muttered the girl in blue.

"And I'm Robin," said the spiky-haired kid. "We're the Teen Titans, crime-fighters of Jump City. We didn't meet you on great terms, but it would be great if we could still be friends."

The Titans put out their hands for them to shake, but Sora and Steven both had uneasy looks on their faces. The team faltered a little bit under these expressions. That is, until the expressions were replaced with smiles.

"Sure!" said Sora, shaking each member's hand.

"No problem!" agreed Steven. He shook their hands as well. "Now is there a park where we can camp out while we're here?"

"Unacceptable!" cried Starfire. She walked over and grabbed their shirts and shook them wildly. "You must be crazier than a Gnorfian night-fly!"

Both Keyblader's eyes grew wide in confusion. "A _what?!?!_"

Starfire continued to shake them. "The park is cold and lonely at night and I shall not allow my new friends to shiver in that dark place!"

"We can make a fire," suggested Sora.

"Star, let them go," said Robin. Hesitantly, Starfire released their shirts. "Why don't you guys stay with us? We get alerts on crime from here. We even have alarms that go off when there's trouble."

"Yeah, dudes," agreed Beast Boy. "You could find those Heartless thing-a-ma-guys you're looking for."

Sora and Steven both considered, easily agreeing. "Wow, thanks," said Sora.

"No problem," said Cyborg, giving them a thumbs-up. "We don't have any spare bedrooms, but I guess you guys can crash on the couch."

"One of you guys could bunk with me," said Beast Boy. "I've always wanted a roommate. We could stay up late watching movies and everything!"

"The T.V's in the living room, Beast Boy." reminded Raven.

Beast Boy drooped his shoulders. "I'll get my own someday...."

They accepted and Beast Boy led them down the hallway to his room. When they got inside, Sora's eyes grew wide in shock and disgust. Across the room and in every corner were piles of dirty laundry. Posters for several video games plastered the walls. CD's, comic books, old food, and other such things were strewn all over the floor. And the beds were as ruffled and disorganized as the entire room. And the smell was nothing normal for an average messy room.

Words couldn't describe Sora's distaste of this situation. He paused to compose himself. "Uh, Beast Boy, I-"

"Dibs!" yelled Steven excitedly. "I call top bunk!"

Sora turned to his partner in heroics and gave him a strange look. Steven wanted to live in this room? "Uh, Steven, I think you-"

"Too late, Sora!" protested Steven. "If you wanted it, you should've been quicker."

Sora rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Alright, I'll take the couch."

He was the first to leave the room. When he was out of earshot, he whispered to himself. "Thank God....."

The Titans led them into the living room. It had red carpets that tracked to the center of the room from three different directions with a circular patch in the very center, several light-brown counters, a panel of flatscreens to the left of them, and straight ahead was a giant window that gave a spectacular view of the horizon and the city.

"Wow," said Sora as he gazed out to the scenery. "Minus the city, this reminds me of home...."

As he averted his gaze, he spotted the couch. His eyes grew wide, for he had not expected it to be this big. As Sora lay down, he instantly fell backwards on it. It was an eighteen-foot semi-circle of soft, relaxing comfort.

"Looks like you guys are settled," observed Robin. "It's been a really long night, so we should all-"

Hearing a loud grunting noise, he turned his head to the couch to see Sora snoring. Cartoonish Z's rose up from him as he slept.

"-get some sleep...." he finished pointlessly.

Cyborg opened a panel with a handprint inside and placed his robotic hand inside. It flashed briefly before dimming the lights. "Power's off. Security's online. Good night, y'all."

With that, each person retired to their separate rooms while Beast Boy and Steven eagerly ran for Beast Boy's room. The prospect of a roommmate excited them both very much.

* * *

During their first week, Sora and Steven were easily accepted like they were members of the team. They fought all sorts of crime. Robberies, muggings, small bomb threats, hostage situations, a few Heartless, and small incidents like cats up trees. They did it all. And they learned more about the companions they had come to befriend.

Robin came from a city called Gotham. He had left a partnership and gone to this city to go solo in the hero business. Meeting the people that now made up the team he led interrupted those plans, but he was never so happy to have this plan go wrong. He was one of two people on the team without any powers, but he was a master kung-fu artist, very intelligent, and carried all sorts of devices with him. Under his tutelage, Sora and Steven learned to fight with their fists, decreasing their total dependence on their Keyblades

Cyborg was the other person with no powers. However, an accident he refused to detail had happened to him a few years ago. To ensure his survival, he was infused with the robotic attachments that covered him. By now, he'd easily gotten used to it. He was extremely knowledgable in technology and possessed enhanced strength from the robotic systems. His hands could also retract and emerge from his body as different tools, such as his super-awesome sonic cannon. But the greatest part was: he was still part-human, giving him a personality and a great attitude.

Beast Boy had also left a previous occupation as a hero, part of a team called the Doom Patrol. After a while, the strictness of their leader had gotten to him and he quit the team. Joining up with the Teen Titans was one of the happiest things he had managed to do since leaving. Beast Boy could change into various animals on a whim. Having sympathy for this, Beast Boy was a vegitarian. He was also a figurative animal, a fun-loving kid who was always trying to crack jokes. Amazingly, Steven was the only one who found them funny, no matter how corny they were.

Raven was born on a place known as Azarath. She normally wore a hood, but when she didn't, a small jewel was noticable on her forehead and her hair was blue, slightly lighter than her cloak. She was very quiet and very serious. She didn't do much but sit in the living room or her own room, meditating. She said it was to keep her powers under control. She was a very dark person, but she managed to smile sometimes.

Of course, those occasions were rare. Sora only saw her smile once during the entire week. And that was when she reversed a water balloon prank that Steven and Beast Boy had set up against her.

As previously stated, Starfire was from a planet called Tamaran. However, she had the basic appearance of a human, as did everyone else on her planet. She had escaped from alien slavers from a different world and landed on Earth. After learning English, she joined up with the Titans. She was still learning most of Earth's customs, and still managed to make mistakes on some behaviors. All Tamaraneans possessed super strength and the power to shoot energy from their hands and eyes, known as starbolts. The color depended on the person and hers were a bright, glowing green. Another fun fact about Tamaraneans: they apparently have nine stomachs.

So in short, everything went along nicely.

Robin and Sora had good relations, as both of them were natural leaders.

Steven had formed a great friendship with Beast Boy and Cyborg from their common love of video games, junk food, and movies. They even had a large T.V that was equal in size to one window panel, about twenty feet tall and wide.

And once again, video games. There were the classic fighting and racing games, but then there was one that used a strange controller shaped like a guitar. Steven was the number one player in the tower at that game......Until he played Starfire on the game an hour later and was defeated quite thoroughly. She just seemed to have an unnatural god-like talent for it.

Starfire was quick to accept the two Keybladers, for she was a naturally friendly person....er, alien. She was not hesitant to share her knowledge of the universe....no matter how disgusting some of it was. In addition, she occasionally cooked traditional Tamaranean delicacies. Despite harsh warnings from the rest of the team, Steven and Sora somehow signed an agreement to try each dish she made. They instantly regretted it, for most of them were composed of some form of alien bug or alien fungus.

The strange thing is: sometimes they weren't that bad. One particular dish tasted like tangerines mixed with ice cream.

Raven wasn't really much of a person to warm up to somebody, but she at least tolerated and trusted the two boys. Sora occasionally borrowed some of her books. He loved how no matter how dark the situation seemed, the good guys always won in the end. Raven enjoyed those, but the books she usually read were considerably darker, not meant for the faint of heart. So Sora stayed away from those.

When not fighting crime, the large building known as Titans Tower was where the team hung out, planned strategies, and just lived. The Tower was their home. And the new inhabitants of the tower formed a bond with the Teen Titans. So much that they even carried something with them: round, yellow communicators with the symbol of the team: a large, white **T**.

* * *

After the first week filled with excitement of new team members had sunk in, they lived as if they had lived that way for years. Robin, Sora, and Starfire were walking somewhere. Raven was silently reading a book in the living room. However, her concentration was continually disrupted as Cyborg, Steven, and Beast Boy searched everywhere for something.

"Keep looking!" Cyborg lifted the entire couch. "It's gotta be around here somewhere!"

"I've looked everywhere and it's not here!" shouted Steven as he threw several pieces of clothing away from the spot he searched. "BB, how could you lose the remote?"

"What makes you so sure _I_ lost it?" complained Beast Boy. He walked to them to argue his case. "Just because I lost that video game-"

"Not just that," interrupted Cyborg. "You lost my football, the toothpaste, and the waffle iron!"

"How would you even lose a waffle iron, man?" added Steven.

"Things disappear," concluded Beast Boy. "How am I supposed to know where they ended up?"

"Well, how am I supposed to watch T.V without the remote?" protested Cyborg.

A vein throbbed in Raven's forehead as the argument continued. She slammed her book in frustration. "Simple. You get up, walk over, and change the channel."

The trio exchanged a look before squinting at Raven with disgust. "This is serious, Raven," stressed Steven. "Don't even joke like that."

Raven returned the glare. "I wasn't joking."

"Good!" Cyborg fired back. "Because it wasn't funny!"

Beast Boy crossed his arms. "Look, either help us find the remote or go back to your reading."

"I would gladly do that," allowed Raven. "Except this pointless argument over that useless device is ruining my concentration!"

As their conflict heated up, the doors to the living room opened and Starfire, Robin, and Sora walked in. "-and that is the secret to traveling faster than light." finished Starfire.

"That's cool," commended Sora. "I should try to get that secret working on our ship."

Then the three noticed the argument. Robin headed over to try and calm everything down. "Hey, take it easy, Titans! We need to focus. Combat practice is this afternoon."

"I suggest ending the dispute with the sharing of unhealthy junk foods," said Starfire. "Come, Sora. Let us fetch them."

Sora followed Starfire to the small fridge. Opening it, Sora eyed everything in the fridge. Leftover pizza, soda, yogurt, cheese, milk, there was no shortage of choices.

Except considering the fact that it was covered in a strange, blue substance. As they looked closer, they saw a piece of it rise up, as if it was alive.

Starfire shrieked and jumped back from the fridge.

"It's okay, Stafire," assured Sora. "It's just a bunch of mold. No need to-"

His sentence was cut off as Starfire shot the mold with her starbolts, releasing a large mass into the room. Sora, standing close to the fridge, received a direct blast of it and was launched to the ceiling, sticking there.

The argument over the remote and calming down instantly died and the team was frozen in their current positions. Cyborg held a fist at Beast Boy with one arm and was threatening Steven with Steven's own Keyblade using the other. Beast Boy had been pushing Steven away from him. Raven was holding both Steven and Robin by their hair. And everyone in the room was covered in the blue goo.

"Maybe we should just go out for pizza," decided Robin.

A large mass dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of them. Sora stood up, splattered from head to toe in the disgusting compound. He wiped a patch of it from his face. "Agreed," he said. Then he shook another blob out of his hair.

* * *

The team ate on a large patio outside of the pizza parlor on a table with a large red and white striped umbrella for shade. Another dispute aroused, this time over what kind of pizza to order.

"Black olive!" said Robin.

"Italian sausage!" yelled Sora.

"Mushrooms and onions!" demanded Beast Boy.

"Pepperoni!" insisted Cyborg.

"How about anchovies?" offered Starfire.

"Can we _please_ just order something?" grumbled Raven.

"As long as it's vegitarian," answered Beast Boy.

"Come on, BB!" complained Steven. "How can you deny me the all-meat experience?"

"Dude!" cried Beast Boy. "I've _been_ most of those animals!"

Starfire decided to end this. "I suggest a large pizza with pickles, bananas, and mint frosting!" She smiled in triumph.

Everyone slowly turned their gazes to Starfire. Beast Boy looked disgusted. Cyborg and Raven couldn't believe what they were hearing. Sora and Steven suddenly craved ice cream sundaes.....and a pickle.

"Uh, Starfire?" said Robin. "Not everything on the menu is a pizza topping."

"Oh," realized Starfire. She rubbed the back of her head in embarassment.

"I still say pepperoni!" said Cyborg.

"Well, I say _double_ pepperoni!" declared Steven.

Cyborg grinned. "Now you're talking!"

"I'm not eating meat!" protested Beast Boy.

Cyborg glared at Beast Boy. "There's no meat in pepperoni!"

* * *

As the argument blazed on, a short kid with no hair eyed the seven teenagers through a pair of high-tech binoculars. Several crosshair icons locked on to them before red letters appeared at the bottom of the display.

_INITIATE MISSION_.

The kid pulled out a small, yellow, hexagonal communicator with a large, black **H** on it.

A girl stood next to a bus. She had bright pink hair that curved into a V. Her clothes were black and purple and the paleness of her skin competed with that of Raven's.

An identical communicator began ringing and she picked it up to hear the message.

"Gizmo to Jinx. Initiate phase one."

She nodded. Holding out her arm, small waves of pink energy from her hand shifted the bus next to her. The engine ignited and it began heading down the sloping street.

* * *

Hearing a loud horn, the Titans and the Keybladers looked around the scenery. At the top of a street-hill, they spotted a bus. They shrugged and turned back to their table. Soon, they heard the noise of a crying baby. They looked back to the hill to see a small baby carriage stranded in the crosswalk. And that's when they noticed just how fast the bus was headed towards it.

"Titans, go!" yelled Robin. The entire team dispersed. Starfire quickly flew to the crosswalk and pushed the carriage out of the way. Cyborg, Raven, and Sora headed to stop the bus. Cyborg pushed his hands up against the front to slow it down. His metallica feet grinded against the street as it continued to rush downhill. Sora ran alongside the tires, trying to freeze them. But the friction of the tires rendered his ice powers useless.

Raven, flying as the bus headed towards them, concentrated her powers on the inside of the vehicle. She quickly found the gear switch and shifted it into the parking gear. The bus quickly slid to a halt and Cyborg released it.

"Wait a second," he wondered as he peered inside the empty vehicle. "Don't buses normally have drivers?"

"And passengers?" added Sora.

"Yeah," said Robin. "And don't baby carriages normally have babies?"

He peered down inside the carriage to see, not a baby, but a small, yellow-eyed teddy bear. Steven, Beast Boy, and Starfire looked down into it as well. As they watched, the toy's head suddenly turned to face the Titans.

"Are you pitsniffers normally this stupid?" it asked in a very snobby child's voice.

Steven pondered this. "Well, not usually. But sometimes-" Steven paused for a moment and squinted at the stuffed animal. "Uh, did that bear just talk?"

The toy's eyes suddenly started glowing yellow before firing beams at them. The four heroes were launched through the air and back into an alley. As Raven, Sora, and Cyborg watched, they noticed a shadow rising from behind. They turned around in time to see the bus crash down on top of them.

A tall, buff man with a black jumpsuit and yellow cuffs on his ankles and wrists, as well as a different yellow accesory on his torso, emerged from the cloud of dust. This man was known as Mammoth.

Jinx and Gizmo emerged from the cloud. Gizmo had a small, green sweatshirt and wore goggles on his head and a small piece of technology on his chest. "That was too easy," he sneered. "Those guys were a bunch of cludge-heads! So, wanna get some pizza?"

A loud noise alerted their attention to the bus. It flew through the air and revealed Sora with a Reflega spell over him, Ravan coming out of the ground, and Cyborg, just plain undamaged. "Oh, it ain't over yet!" he challenged.

Robin, Steven, Beast Boy, and Starfire emerged from the alley they had flown into. "We're just getting warmed up!" agreed Robin.

Beast Boy hopped out of the trash can he had landed in, tossing aside the banana peel stuck to his head. "Who are these guys?"

"And what's a cludge-head?" wondered Steven.

The snotty little kid, Gizmo, grinned. "We're the Hive!"

"Your worst nightmare!" added Mammoth.

"And this is Attack Pattern Alpha!" finished Jinx, the girl with pink hair.

Gizmo started up his jetback and flew for the Titans in the alley, firing several yellow laser projectiles at them. Jinx targeted Raven while Mammoth began to attack Cyborg. Sora attacked Mammoth first, firing several Firaga spells. Mammoth dodged them swiftly, despite his bulky figure. Growling, Sora attempted to strike him with the Keyblade. Mammoth held off Cyborg with one hand and the Keyblade with the other.

"Hey guys," said Mammoth. "What do you call two idiots with rockets on their backs?"

"I love riddles!" smiled Sora, while still pressing the attack. "What do you call them?"

His answer was given in the form of said rockets being attached to his back as well as Cyborg's. Gizmo jumped off as they ignited. "Doomed!" he snickered. Sora and Cyborg screamed as they were launched into the sky at very unsettling speeds.

Starfire gasped and took to the air. She quickly caught up with Sora and flew alongside him. Grasping the restraints of the rocket, she pulled him free and vaulted him backwards. He landed on top of a building and watched the sky as the rocket exploded from the impact of a starbolt. "Nice save, Starfire!" She nodded before rushing to help Cyborg.

Raven dodged several punches from Jinx, shifting again and again. She waited for an opening and swung her arm around to strike, but Jinx easily blocked it and smiled. "You fight like a boy."

Gizmo held up a flashing device aimed straight for her. "And you're about to croak like a frog!" The device fired at the pavement at her feet, pushing her back several feet.

"Raven!" Robin rushed forward only to have his friend crash straight into him. Beast Boy and Steven ran ahead. Beast Boy transformed into an elephant and charged, only to be lifted up effortlessly by Mammoth. "That was too easy," the giant snickered.

Steven sprinted at Mammoth and used the momentum to jump into the air. Forgetting his Keyblade, he aimed his foot at Mammoth's head.

Just a second too slow.

Mammoth tossed Beast Boy into the air and punched him in Steven's direction. The animal boy flew towards Steven, still in elephant form. Steven couldn't stop the impact and went flying several feet back, landing behind Robin and Raven as Beast Boy skidded to a stop right in front of him.

Beast Boy frowned as he lay defeated, upside down. "Is it just me, or are we getting our butts kicked?"

Everybody frowned at him. "It's just you," they all agreed simaltaneously. "Okay," began Robin. "I have a plan. We need to-"

Yellow bolts and a pink blast collided with Steven, sending him back farther than imaginable, landing him in the middle of the water near Titans Tower. A few more yellow bolts scattered across the ground, knocking back Robin's two other teammates and terminating his plan. He turned to see the three members of the HIVE standing in front of him. "Well scrum-buffer, I hope your plan involves getting fried like a helpless chicken!" sneered Gizmo.

"Well, it looks like we'll find that out the hard way," said a familiar voice. Robin looked to his right to see Sora land beside him. They grinned to each other before motioning the HIVE with their hands, a total "give me all you got" expression worn on their faces.

And they delivered. Gizmo fired his bolts towards the ground at their feet. Jinx fired her pink waves of energy at the same area. Mammoth jumped into the air and smashed it with his fists, creating a shockwave that blew a hole in the street.

The HIVE smirked at their dirty work. Then the dust cleared and their mouths dropped to the ground as Sora and Robin stood inside a Reflega spell, completely unharmed. When it cleared however, their was nothing left between the two heroes and the gaping hole below them. Sora and Robin's screams echoed through the street as they fell to the sewers below the city.

The three teenage villains looked down again before leaving the area. As they walked off, Raven and Beast Boy arrived at the edge of the pit. They looked down and couldn't see anything but very unclean water. "Robin?" called Beast Boy. "Sora?"

* * *

Beast Boy limped into the tower, supported by Raven. He sat down on a chair and breathed heavily. "Please tell me that didn't just happen."

"It did happen." Raven removed her hood. "We can't alter the truth, no matter how much we don't like it."

She took a knee beside Beast Boy and held her hands above his injured knee. They glowed with a pale blue. Beast Boy felt a small tingling in his leg before something snapped. He moved it a little bit to find out that it had been mended. "Who knew we had a doctor in the house?" He smiled. "Thanks, Raven."

"No problem," she replied without any change in expression.

The doors to the tower opened up again. Cyborg and Starfire walked in. They were followed by a panting Steven, who had clearly dried off from the water, but now his hair was temporarily poofed out into an afro. "You have no idea how far I landed from the tower. It took _forever_ to get here."

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "So why do you look like you just walked out of a blow dryer?"

Starfire raised her hand. "I decided my starbolts would be useful in curing Steven of his 'being wet' condition." Steven shook his head clear of the starbolts, reverting his hair back to its normal state.

"In the meantime, I got a new nickname," declared Cyborg. "Flyboy. I tell ya, I was halfway to Gotham before Starfire finally blasted the rocket off of me. So what'd we miss? Tell me how we kicked their butts!"

Beast Boy and Raven's eyes drooped in sadness.

Steven wondered what was going on. "Come on, guys! Give us the news!"

Starfire looked around. "Where are Robin and Sora?"

"Uh, Star," Beast Boy could barely get the words out. "We're....not sure."

"Not sure?" she asked. "Why are you not-"

"We looked everywhere, Starfire," insisted Raven. "But all we found were these." She held up her hands. In one hand was Robin's utility belt. In the other was Sora's crown-shaped necklace.

Starfire gasped. Cyborg hung his head in despair. "I should've been there. That kid snuck up on me and....it was a trap. I should've known."

Steven punched the wall. "This is my fault. When I started working with Sora, King Mickey assigned me to watch his back and I blew it. And now he's-" Steven choked back his next words. "No. He's not gone. He'll be back. They'll both be back. Any second, maybe."

A loud knocking was heard on the door. "Robin! Sora!" Starfire ran towards the door. As she began to open it, it was blasted into her. She was pushed backwards. The smoke cleared to reveal the HIVE, coming back to finish their mission.

"Oh no..." grumbled Beast Boy.

Jinx smiled. "Oh, yes."

Cyborg charged up his sonic cannon. "You guys got lucky last time, but you're in our house now!"

"Yeah, it's a nice place," observed Gizmo. "I think we'll take it!"

"Oh, no you don't!" yelled Steven, bringing out his obsidian Keyblade. "I've barely been living in this place a week and there is _no_ way an eight year-old and his friends are taking it!"

He fired several fire spells towards the three enemies, who jumped aside to take the offensive.

"Split up!" yelled Cyborg as he fired his cannon.

Raven and Starfire ran up the stairs with Mammoth hot on their tail. Raven tossed a couple of fire extinguishers down the flight of steps, creating a small cloud of gas in front of the behemoth.

* * *

Beast Boy and Steven rushed down the hall, several wall panels breaking off and flying towards them. Jinx walked calmly behind them. After all, she was the source of the destruction. "Come here, kiddies. You're not afraid of a little bad luck, are you?"

The duo turned around the corner. "Well," panted Steven as he ran, "I can honestly say I don't like it!" He shot a thunder spell at Jinx, lightly stunning her. He fired another one, but this time she used her rays to reflect it back at him. Steven collided with the wall and grunted. He quickly arose and ran to catch up with Beast Boy.

They both panted as they rounded several corners. They looked back and did not see Jinx anywhere. Beast Boy stopped running to relax. "I think we lost her," Steven was about to answer when-

_WHAM_. A panel dropped from the ceiling and clanged as it collided with Steven's head. "No, she's still here," he groaned in pain. Then, he dropped to the floor.

Jinx smiled, her eyes glowing pink as she advanced toward the two boys. "This just isn't your lucky day."

Beast Boy smiled in return. "Comes with the job."

He transformed into a T-Rex and roared at the girl. She didn't even wince. She simply released more energy, which formed a neat circle around the dino and Steven, who was regaining conciousness. He looked over at a smiling Jinx, who waved at him. He raised an eyebrow before he noticed the circle of floor collapsing. His eyes, as well as Beast Boy's, grew wide as they fell in.

* * *

Starfire and Raven ran into the workout room. Raven shut the doors and bent a bar in between the handles. Starfire fired green beams out of her hands to seal the door shut, welding the cracks closed. They let out a sigh of relief. One that shouldn't have come, for the wall behind them suddenly cracked and formed a small hole. And Mammoth's head poked through that hole. He grinned. "Hello, ladies...."

* * *

Up another flight of stairs, Cyborg ran after Gizmo. He reached the top as the techno-kid walked into another room, supported by four metal legs, crawling around like a spider. Cyborg dashed into the room, finally cornering the boy. Then, all the lights went out and the flat panel screens in the room suddenly flashed with Gizmo's face. "You have a heart under all that outdated crud-wear, tin-man? I'm gonna take you apart and find out!"

The boy-genius dropped from the ceiling and advanced toward Cyborg. One of his spider legs shot towards the half-robot. "Gotcha!"

Cyborg caught the leg with his metal hand and laughed. "Actually, I got _you_!"

Cyborg flipped Gizmo over his shoulder and smashed his control panel that he wore like a backpack. Cyborg just kept smiling as he crumpled it up and tossed it aside. He advanced upon Gizmo, who ran behind some boxes in the room. "How you gonna fight me without your tech, little man?" teased Cyborg.

He lifted the box and saw Gizmo standing there, helpless. Cyborg stepped forward to finish him when he noticed his foot stepping on something. It flashed with a blue light and he looked to his left to see a devious-looking hologram of Gizmo. This momentary distraction allowed Gizmo to run away yet again. Cyborg backed up into another box. As he spotted Gizmo jumping down from them, it was too late. The pint-sized kid was on his back, opening up a panel.

"Hey!" yelled Cyborg. "Get out of my systems! Nobody hacks my systems!" Gizmo inserted a tool into Cyborg, causing the machines that ran him to go awry. He began running around randomly, his arms twisiting around awkwardly as he did. "Ejector arm! Cool!" cried Gizmo. He pushed a button and Cyborg's right forearm literally disconnected from his body, revealing some of the mechanical joints that connected them.

* * *

Outside, the tower was seen shaking up and down and side to side in a cartoonish way, until it erupted, spitting the five remaining Titans into the water several yards away. They looked back at it to see several pink waves coming towards them. They collided with the water and created an absolutely enourmous wave. It crashed over the heads of the five Titans and pushed them below the surface. As the water settled, they were out of sight completely.

"Have a nice afterlife," sneered Gizmo. "You snot-eating losers!"

* * *

The Titans trudged up on the shore across from their home. Thoughts flashed through their head as they walked.

_It's all my fault. I blew it_.

_Tell me that didn't just happen_.

_Where are Robin and Sora?_.

_I should've been there. I should've known_.

"So, who else never wants to go surfing again?" Beast Boy offered, unenthusiastically trying to make a joke.

"Not now, man," said Cyborg. His finger, one of the only five he had left, opened to reveal a small blowtorch, which he applied to his damaged leg.

Starfire stepped forward and held out her hand. "Perhaps I can help?"

"I got it," replied Cyborg.

Starfire eyed the one-armed Cyborg and insisted. "But you are so damaged and-"

"I said I got it!" snapped Cyborg.

"Geez, Cyborg! Calm down!" pleaded Steven.

"Yeah, dude," agreed Beast Boy. "She just wanted to help. What the heck is your problem?"

Cyborg looked up with an angry look on his face. "What do you think? We just got kicked out of our house, a pea-sized poin-dexter just took me for a joyride," Then he held up the stump he had for a right arm. "And, in case you haven't noticed, I just became left-handed!"

"ENOUGH!" Raven yelled. "We need to keep our emotions under control."

"Why?" argued Cyborg. "Or else our bad vibes will keep you from meditating?"

"If Robin were here," Starfire said, "He would know what to do."

"Well, he's not here," reminded Steven. "And neither is Sora."

"Exactly my point!" hollered Cyborg. "This is it! They won, we lost! It's all over!"

"You mean....the Teen Titans are finished?" wondered Beast Boy.

"Not yet," said a familiar voice.

The Titans jumped at hearing their Sora's voice. They turned around and saw him standing beside Robin. Their leader smiled. "Not if I can help it."

* * *

Gizmo formed a small rectangle with his fingers as he directed his small drones, holding an oval-shaped piece of wood with a prized trophy: Cyborg's right arm. "A little to the left. More, more......" The drones attached the wooden ornament to the wall, to which Gizmo gave a thumbs-up. "Perfect!" He turned to Mammoth and Jinx, who were inspecting things in the tower. "Slade's gonna have kittens when he hears we beat the Titans _and_ took their stinking tower."

Jinx smiled as she fingered Robin's utility belt, which she had stolen. "Not to mention Robin's favorite fashion statement." Then she groaned in disgust. "But that's the only fashionable thing they have here."

"Tell me about it," agreed Mammoth. In his hand, he held a large sandwich covered the in the familiar blue mold. "All their food is outdated." Without any hesitation, he shoved the entire sandwich into his mouth.

Gizmo snorted at their complaining. "You think _that's_ bad? Wait until you hear their music." He picked up a CD. "Crud." He tossed it aside and picked up another. "Snot." He chucked that one too.

Oblivious to the HIVE, they were being watched. Cyborg's detatched arm's middle fingertip opened to reveal a small red eye that formed a camera. It looked around the room, seeing all. Jinx was now trying on Raven's clothes. Mammoth was still stuffing his face. And Gizmo was still calling their music "crud", "mega-crud", or "snot".

WIth those three still distracted, the arm effortlessly jumped off of the wooden mantlepiece and walked on its fingers towards the computer. It hopped onto the chair. Several wires grew out from the joint of the forearm and clicked several keys on the keyboard. A small outline of an electrical system slowly turned red before the screen went black. The objective was a success as the red alarm lights began flashing in addition to the siren noise.

Several cabinets banged open and closed and CD's began to fly at Gizmo, who retreated to hide behind the chair. To his shock, the chair moved to reveal his trophy, which proceeded to tie him up with the wires. Giving him a taste of his own trick, the arm fired up a rocket and flew Gizmo up through an air vent in the ceiling, with Gizmo screaming like the eight year-old kid he was.

Distracted, Jinx failed to notice the dark energy that formed a large hand behind her. Its black fingers wrapped around her and pulled her up through the ceiling.

Mammoth looked around, aware that someone was going to sneak attack him. But it didn't help, for a green bolt of energy blasted him through the doors of the living room.

When Jinx reach the roof of the Tower, the black hand released her and she breathed heavily. She regained her energy in time to see Gizmo headed straight for her. They collided and flew back to the ground again. They spotted a flash of green right before the doors opened up again. Mammoth flew out and was sprawled before them.

"Sorry to interrupt the victory celebration," apologized Cyborg without one hint of sincerity. "But like I said, this ain't over!"

As the yellow belt flew threw the air, it was caught and reattached by its orginal owner. "We're just getting started," added Robin.

"We're done with you guys," Sora replaced his crown necklace around his neck. "Right here, right now."

Jinx groaned at having to go throug this job a second time. "Attack Pattern Alpha!" she ordered

Gizmo and Mammoth split to each side of her as she fired her energy straight forward. It knocked over several cylindrical silos surrounding Cyborg, who sidestepped each one. She did some graceful-looking backwards cartwheels to avoid an assault of green bolts from Starfire before jumping inside the area of construction still left from the giant portion that created the **H**.

Cyborg leaped out of the mass of silos that surrounded him, only to have Gizmo jump on his back yet again. "Hey, Robo-wimp! Ready to get cracked?"

"Nope," Cyborg calmly replied. "How about you?" He turned around "Yo, Steve! Now!"

Looking up, Gizmo looked to see Steven holding his Keyblade, charging it with electricity. While distracted, Cyborg pulled the kid off of his back and tossed him into the air and rushed away from the area. With his teammate in the clear, Steven let loose his magic and directly struck Gizmo, electrifying his three-and-a-half foot body as well as the technology he wore. "CRUUUUUUUUD!" he screamed. The boy genius crashed to the ground and was, almost literally, toast.

Starfire continued her barrage of starbolts as Jinx ran into the construction zone. "Beast Boy, go!" she cried.

Beast Boy, perched on the girder, saluted Starfire before jumping down towards Jinx. Instead of an elephant, he transformed into a monkey and hit his target. He landed on Jinx's face. With her vision obscured by his miniscule, hairy body, she randomly fired several waves of energy at her surroundings. She halted her assault and pulled the animal off of her face. She tossed Beast Boy towards the edge of the building and he stopped shortly before falling off and smiled. "Your luck just ran out," He turned into an eagle and flew off.

Jinx stood there wondering why he was using a pun about back luck against _her_, the mistress of bad luck, when she heard several creaking sounds around her. She eyed the girders and realized that they were collapsing all around her. "Aw, man," she deadpanned before the rubble surrounded her.

Mammoth aimed a punch at Raven, who simply rose to avoid it and descended behind him. He turned and ran for her again. But he was stopped by Cyborg, who punched him across the pavement. As the giant man rose, he shrieked when he saw Beast Boy as a T-Rex, roaring at him. As he ran in fear of that, Starfire used a starbolt to trip him up. As he was slightly above the ground, Robin slid underneath him and used both feet to push him higher into the air. Sora jumped from the top of the girders to deal the final downward strike. As the two opposing forces met, Sora prevailed and the giant man plowed into the ground, groaning in pain on top of his two allies.

Gizmo pulled out a small device. "Crammit! I'm calling Slade."

Robin grabbed Gizmo by the shirt and hoisted him up so that he was eye-to-mask with him. "Who is Slade?"

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know, barf-brain!" sneered Gizmo.

* * *

In an unknown location, one with many machines, gears, and devices, a tall, elderly woman stood before her client. "I'm very sorry, sir. Such failures are not tolerated within the HIVE. When the agents are retrieved from the authorites, they shall be disciplined," She formed a fist with her hand. "_Strictly_ disciplined."

A man of the shadows, vaguely seen wearing metallic armor as well as a mask, one that only showed one eye, replied to the woman. "Actually, your students served my plans quite well. You see, I didn't expect them to succeed. They were....messengers, I would say. And the message was delivered."

He pulled out a small metal cylinder with a single button on top. Pressing that button, an image appeared on the wall. It showed Robin's face. Soon several more images appeared and it was revealed to be the same image in a video clip. All of them repeated the same words, again and again.

"Who is Slade?"

* * *

"Noooo!" screamed Beast Boy, after Titans Tower ditched the piece that made the **H**, leaving only the original **T** shaped structure. "This is the worst thing that could ever happen!"

A shot of Beast Boy reveals that he is standing in the living room, holding his head in despair. "My tunes! They've been....." He breathed the last word with malice. "Alphabetized." He started chucking CD's off the shelf in his panicked state. "How am I ever gonna find anything?"

Steven picked up a couple of his own CD's. "You're joking, right? This is the first time I've been able to find these since I- wait a second, what's this?" He saw black marks on his CD cases. "Did somebody draw on these?" Then he actually bothered to read the markings. The front cover of one of his favorite CD's was plastered with the words 'Mega-Crud'. Steven's hand that didn't hold the CD clenched into a fist. "Oh, that is just low, even for them."

Raven walked in holding shreds of her many blue cloaks. "They went into my room," she said. Her eyebrows lowered in anger. "No one should _ever_ go into my room."

Starfire gasped as she opened the fridge. "Someone has disposed of all our blue furry food!"

Sora shrugged. "That's not so bad. That stuff was several weeks stale. Besides, at least we still have-" He looked into the fridge and his next words were lost as his expression went into a look of wide-eyed shock. Sora screamed like a girl after searching the rest of the kitchen. "They took my ice cream!"

Cyborg lifted the edge of the couch to continue searching for the one thing he had to look for. "You've gotta be kidding me! The whole place gets cleaned up and I _still_ can't find the-"

Hearing a whistle, he looked up to see Robin pointing at the living room table. Cyborg laughed as he spotted the remote sitting on its flat, smooth surface, just waiting to be used. "Well, alright then!"

Robin picked it up and turned on the television. Cyborg took a seat beside him. "So I guess we need to start training and tracking down clues on who Slade is, huh?"

"We will," assured Robin. "But for now, I'm just glad to be a part of the team."

"Same here, Robin," said Sora.

"You guys are great," added Beast Boy.

"It is most wonderful to kick the butt with my friends," beamed Starfire.

"Uh....sure," drawled Raven.

"You said it, guys," finished Steven. He suddenly ditched his navy-blue sleeveless shirt to sport a white T-shirt with black letters.

**Long Live The Teen Titans!

* * *

**

******PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY!**  



	7. Sisters

A shooting star crossed the horizon as bright, multi-colored sparks lit the sky. Fireworks exploded in the air above a magnificent carnvial. Starfire sat next to Robin on the ferris wheel watching in awe. "They're beautiful." She turned her head to look at Robin. "Tell me again what they are called."

"Fireworks," said Robin. "It's how people of Earth celebrate sometimes."

The stunning alien girl eyed the bright flashes with uncertainty. "On my planet, such explosions would signal that the Gordanians were invading. Are you quite sure that Earth is not under attack?"

Robin just smiled. "I'm positive." He held up a cone with a large blob of pink fluff inside. "Cotton candy?"

Starfire eyed it suspiciously again. "The last time I consumed a ball of cotton, it was white and tasted most unpleasant."

"This is different," assured Robin. Demonstrating, he plucked a piece out with two fingers and tossed it inside his mouth. Starfire followed suit. She made a satisfied noise as she chewed.

She felt the sugary mass disappear in her mouth. "It vanished!"

"Yeah," chuckled Robin. "It'll do that." With a gasp, he gestured to the sky. "Here comes the finale!"

Several more fireworks lit up and took to the sky. They exploded one by one, scattering across the sky, as if to turn night into day. "Whoo!" cheered Robin. "Amazing!"

Starfire smiled. "Earth is full of amazing things too."

Robin smiled. "Best planet I've been to."

As Starfire glanced over at her friend, something happened. She felt something grip her tightly and she was puled out of the carriage on the ferris wheel. Robin's hair was ruffled by the wind as a large pink machine that resembled a jellyfish flew off, holding his friend with its tentacle-like appendages. "Starfire!" he yelled.

As he watched, he noticed some orange projectiles and electricty being fired at the flying jellyfish. He peered below to the next carriage to see two other Titans.

"You can't hit it from here, Sora!" yelled Beast Boy.

"We have to keep trying! It's got Starfire!" The carriage suddenly jolted. The two teenagers grabbed onto the railing for support. When it stopped swaying, they turned to see their leader standing before them, looking quite ticked off.

"Uh.....hey Robin!" stammered Sora.

"How long have you been here?" demanded Robin.

"We were just watching your back, dude," answered Beast Boy. "And after what just happened, you can't really blame us."

"If you were watching my back, how come you guys were in the front carriage?"

A cartoonish sweatdrop formed on both foreheads as they smiled, embarassed. "Well, we'd love to talk about that," said Sora nervously. "But we gotta save Starfire first."

Robin jumped at the reminder that the flying jellyfish was still getting away. Then he nodded "Right."

* * *

"Yes!"

"Boo-yah!"

Cyborg and Steven high-fived as they observed the ring slide down over the bottle. Steven reached over and pulled out a giant plush chicken and held before Raven. "Told ya we'd win you a prize!" He placed the chicken in her arms.

"A giant chicken," Raven said emotionlessly as she held the large stuffed bird. "I must be the luckiest girl in the world."

A cloud of dust was uplifted as Beast Boy and Sora rushed towards the docks. "Guys, trouble!" urged Sora before continuing to run.

Cyborg called after them. "Where's Starfire and Robin?"

"That's the trouble," replied Robin as he ran past. Slightly astonished, they three Titans immediately took off after them.

Starfire struggled against the grip of the mechanical jellyfish. Despite her amazing strength, she couldn't break free. Irritated, her eyes glowed green. "I do not know where you are taking me, but I do not wish to go!" She fired the green energy from her eyes at the underside of her captor. Electricity mixed with the starbolts and it crackled with green lightning as it was forced to release her. As Starfire flew away, it recovered and took off after her.

Starfire flipped her position, flying in the same direction, but looking behind her. Avoiding a tentacle reaching at her, she fired a starbolt at the metal menace. It bounced harmlessly off the black dome top with a loud clang. She fired another to the same effect. "No more chasing now, please!"

She flew over the docks, right between her friends. The machine didn't even take notice of them as it followed, knocking Steven over on the way.

He clutched his head in pain. "I don't like Star's new friend," He groaned from the ground.

Robin cracked his knuckles. "Same here," he muttered.

As Starfire flew back around, the machine followed. Beast Boy leaped into the air and attempted to bite the attacker as a crocodile, but to no success. Raven tossed a hot dog stand at it. The concession was obliterated upon impact.

Sora charged at it and swung his Keyblade downward, but the resounding _clang_ vibrated from the black, metal dome, through his weapon and to his hands. Sora's eyes widened in pain as he was forced to release his Keyblade. This broke his defense and the giant jellyfish crashed into him. Sora was vaulted back to the edge of the deck.

It flew towards Starfire, but was halted as Cyborg grabbed its pink, steel tentacles. "Star, I don't know how you made this thing angry, but it couldn't hurt to apologize!"

"I am.....sorry?" repeated a confused Starfire. Breaking free from Cyborg's grip, the machine flew for her yet again.

"Stay back!" yelled Steven. "I got this!" He tossed a large, white object at the approaching metal jellyfish. It didn't even hesitate, crashing directly into the thing. Without any resistance, the object flew threw the air and into the water. It bobbed back to the surface.....clucking.

A look of pure disbelief showed on Cyborg's face. "You threw Raven's stuffed chicken?"

Raven shrugged. "At least I don't have to throw it away myself."

Robin leapt into the air and pulled out his metal staff. He brought his arms behind him and slammed the metal dome as hard as he could. The impact took effect and the giant menace went limp, involuntarily diving into the water.

Steven looked over the edge of the dock. "Did we win?"

"Lemme check," Beast Boy jumped into the water, transforming into a shark. Diving under, he flanked the docks. He spotted fish, jellyfish, a bigger jellyfish-

It wasn't dead. He leaped out of the water and waved his arms frantically. "Dudes, look out!"

Too slow. A hole broke in the docks beneath Sora's feet and he was forced to hold on for dear life as the mechanical jellyfish flew up and around. Once Sora managed to get his grip, he looked around the structure of the artificial beast.

"Don't suppose this thing has an 'off' switch." He spotted a panel of wires and circuitry and smiled. "Guess I'll just make one."

He pointed his Keyblade at the mass of technology and overloaded it with electricty. It began to go haywire, flying in very random patterns. When it crossed over the docks, Sora jumped off and watched as it flew through the air towards the fireworks. It blew up among them and released large, Saturn-like rings, adding to the already impressive display of colored explosions.

Sora gave a thumbs-up to Starfire. "Whatever that was, it can't hurt you now."

"I am most grateful," said Starfire. "But why did it wish to hurt me at all?"

Robin put a hand on her shoulder. "Unless that thing has friends, I don't think you have to worry about it."

* * *

Once they reached the tower, Starfire was in a much, much, much happier mood. For cartoonish comedic effect, a background of flowers dropped down behind her as she twirled in happiness. "Friends, as thanks for my rescue, I shall recite the Poem of Gratitude; all six-thousand verses!"

The sound of a crashing car was heard as the Titan's eyes grew wide. Thankfully, they were quickly saved.

"I see you haven't changed a bit."

Starfire spun around to see a black-haired girl in similar attire to her own. Unlike Starfire, black material covered her torso and limbs, excluding her hands. She smiled. "When we were little, I always had to rescue Starfire."

Starfire rushed to the girl. "Sister!" The shrieked in delight as they hugged each other. Surprisingly, Starfire did not squeeze tightly as she did with her friends.

The girl held up a small, black ribbon. "I brought you a present, little sister." Attached to the end was a green, octagonal diamond.

Starfire's eyes popped out of her head and began shining as she stared. "A Centauri moon diamond? Wherever did you get it?"

"The Centauri Moons, of course." She placed it around Starfire's neck. "Look, it matches your eyes!"

Starfire's eyes popped out again, this time resembling the diamonds exactly as she smiled gladly. After they reverted back to normal, she pulled her sister towards the team. "Come and meet my friends!" She turned to said friends. "Allow me to introduce my older sister."

The girl stepped forward. "Blackfire. Starfire told me all about the Titans in her transmissions. So let me guess," She stepped in front of Cyborg. "Cyborg?"

Cyborg grinned and held out his large, metal hand. "Pleased to meet you, little lady."

As she clasped it, he felt no pain. But he did see his hand crushed into a flattened clump of its former self. "Little lady, _big_ handshake." He smiled. "Well, alright!"

Blackfire stepped over to the next Titan. "Raven." She admired Raven's forehead. "I like your Ajna shakra gem that you have in your forehead."

Raven didn't show it, but she was surprised. "You....know about shakras?"

"I got way into meditation on Altara Prime." confirmed Blackfire.

She seemed to change every time she talked to somebody. She further demonstrated this when she walked up to the Titan with green skin. "Beast Boy! What's up?"

Beast Boy jerked his thumb upward. "Nothing but the ceiling, baby!"

"Good one!" she chortled.

"See, Raven?" whispered Beast Boy. "_She_ thinks I'm funny."

"Well, statistically," said Raven. "I guess Steven can't be the only one." Beast Boy's head deflated at that statement as he frowned.

Blackfire eyed Sora and Steven up and down. "You must be the newest Titans. Star's description makes it hard to tell which one's which. Let me see.....Tall, handsome, muscular...."

Sora and Steven's faces went red as she described them.

_Uh........ _Sora thought to himself.

Steven had a thought too. _Well.....this is just fine._

"Ah, I know!" declared Blackfire. "Spiky hair! You must be Sora." She placed her finger on the chest of said spiky-haired Keyblader. As well as her pinkie on the chest of Steven. Using her massive strength, she pulled them both closer. "I heard you both have an....interesting power at your disposal. May I see it?"

Both boys, still red, held out their hands. The traditional _Kingdom Key_ appeared in Sora's hand while the obsidian-colored form of it flashed in Steven's. Blackfire pulled her fingers away from them as she eyed the weapons with intrigue. "Impressive. What're they called?"

"Keyblades." They replied simaltaneously.

Blackfire raised an eyebrow. "I've heard about them. Quite powerful indeed."

As she walked away, thoughts flashed through their minds yet again.

_That was kinda weird....._ thought Sora.

_She digs me!_ thought Steven, as his eyes morphed into two beating hearts.

Then Blackfire reached the last Titan. "The leader himself, Robin." She jumped behind him and lifted the piece of fabric he wore. "I love this cape! It's positively luscious!"

Robin smiled. "Thanks. It's a high-density polymerized titanium, ten times stronger than steel!"

"Fascinating!" admired Blackfire, still staring at the cape. Then she leaned to his face. "And that mask makes you look very mysterious." She spoke with a hint of intense interest. Behind Robin, Steven was seen, literally on fire with jealousy. Then Starfire decided to interject.

"So Sister, tell me, what brings you to Earth?"

Blackfire shrugged. "I was in the quadrant." She took a seat on the couch. "I wanted to see if Earthlings like to party." She hardled reacted as Steven slowly sidled up beside her. "Besides, I needed to rest. Almost got sucked into a black hole on the way here."

This statement brought all the other boys to her in a flash.

"Black hole?" said Robin with wide eyes.

"No way!" mumbled Cyborg.

"Cool!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"That's crazy!" added Sora.

Steven was hypnotized by her. "Tell us all about it."

She gladly obliged. "Okay, so I was cruising through the Jaconis Nebula-"

"But sister," interrupted Starfire. "That nebula is full of black holes and travel there is forbidden."

Her statement was not received at all, for Blackfire smiled. "Most fun things in life are. Now, be a sweet sister and get me one of those 'sodas' I've heard so much about."

In barely, a second, Steven darted to the fridge and back, holding a can of lemon-lime liquid for her. Blackfire chugged the liquid down. "Wow! These are as good as they say." She patted Steven on the head. "Thanks, hon."

A drop of drool landed on the leg of Steven's jeans. "No problem..." he said, mesmerized by the pretty alien.

Starfire, clearly being ignored, made to exit the room. The automatic doors opened in front of her. "I see you have not changed either, sister," she muttered to herself.

* * *

Starfire walked through the halls the next day. "Sister? Where are you? I wish for your companionship!" She called and called, but there was no response.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Beast Boy and Cyborg were busy playing their usual rounds of _Rocket Racers_ on GameStation. Their fingers were pressing buttons and going at the joysticks at insane speeds.

Cyborg continually kept the lead in his virtual white rocket-car with blue stripes while Beast Boy tried to pass him with his own green-tinted virtual vehicle.

"Yeah, you wanna pass me, but you can't pass me! You can't-" Cyborg's mouth dropped at Beast Boy's surprise manuever. "You passed me!"

Beast Boy really got into the game, rising from the couch for his next moves. "Tight turn, jets, and nitro! I'm gonna win!"

"Pardon me," said Starfire. "But have either of you seen Blackfire?"

"Blazin' B?" replied Beast Boy. "She was here just a second ago."

As he spoke, Cyborg's video game vehicle collided with his own, knocking it off the virtual track. "Ah yeah!" cheered Cyborg. "Back in the lead!"

"It looks like fun," observed Starfire. "May I join the game?"

"Maybe later," said Cyborg. "Winner of this plays Blackfire."

Small hearts began to rise up from Beast Boy as his virtual rocket car recovered. "Yeah, dude. She rules at this game."

Dismayed, Starfire walked through the halls yet again. Passing Raven's room, she decided to knock. It opened a little bit, enough to expose Raven's hooded face.

"Is my sister in there?" asked Starfire.

"No."

Raven began to close the door, but Starfire leaned to the side to ensure visibility. "Would you wish to hang out with me? We might visit your favorite depressing cafe."

"Already been," Raven confessed. "It was open mic night and Blackfire wanted to share," At that moment, Starfire could've sworn Raven was smiling. "Your sister's poetry is surprisingly dark." With that statement, she closed the door completely.

Starfire dismally strolled to the workout room. As she approached, she noticed three silhouettes. One spoke, revealing it to be Blackfire.

"That's perfect, boys." Suddenly, the two silhouettes of boys, which she soon realized to be Sora and Robin, leaned in. Their heads' shadows merging with Blackfire's.

Starfire felt like something caught in her throat as she watched. She got to the doorway in time to see Sora and Robin flung across the room with such velocity that they spun several times in the air, almost as if floating, before crashing down upon a pile of weights. They rose from the assault with their eyes spinning around.

Blackfire pulled them both up from the wreckage. "Learned that from a Venzo master on Tyrus Three."

Sora crouched down in fatigue and slight pain. "Don't suppose you have his business card?"

All thoughts were discarded as Starfire stepped into the room. "Robin, Sora....my sister....am I interrupting?"

"Not at all," assured Robin. "Blackfire was just showing me some alien kung-fu moves."

"Hey Starfire," wondered Sora. "How come you didn't show us that kind of stuff?"

"She probably doesn't know them," Blackfire answered for her. "I always was the better fighter."

When it seemed that Starfire's mood would never perk up, she walked into the living room to see that it had been abandoned by Cyborg and Beast Boy and taken up by Steven. He stretched up and down as he prepared for his session on GameStation.

"Peace, calm, tranquility," he muttered. "Focus, determination, and skill. These are what I need to accomplish the task before me. It will take much time, but I shall rise to the occasion."

He popped his knuckles one final time before picking up the plastic guitar-shaped controller before him. "Now let's rock." he stated seriously, forming horns with his hand.

Starfire lifted a finger. "Excuse me-"

"AAH!" That was enough to make Steven jump upward and crash through the ceiling in surprise.

"Sorry," apologized Starfire as she removed the shocked boy from the ceiling and lowered him to the ground. "But I could not help but notice that you were....it seemed like you were meditating."

"Well, kind of," allowed Steven. "I do this every night when everyone's not busy."

Starfire eyed the situation with a little bit of confusion. "You....do some form of exercises in an attempt to get better at the _Guitar Hero_ game?"

"Pretty much," said Steven, selecting a song and immediately going to the Expert level. "Blackfire totally creamed me the other night, so I decided that I have to get better fast."

He began moving his fingers over five colored buttons on the neck of the guitar controller to the tune of the song as he clicked a switch up and down to play the notes in the game. "She's not going to be here forever, so I have to work hard if I'm gonna be the one wearing the pants in the relationsh-" Small flames appeared in Starfire's eyes, so he quickly corrected himself. "Uh, I-I-I, m-mean, I mean, get good enough to beat her."

Starfire's frown remained for a moment, but she quickly composed herself. "Perhaps I might join you in the game?" she said hopefully.

After her daily treatment from the others, what Steven said next was completely unexpected.

"Sure!"

She smiled. "Really?"

He smiled back. "Yeah. When I have somebody to compete with, it makes me play that much harder. And what better competition than the best player in the tower?"

Starfire picked up the second plastic instrument and looked over at her friend. "What about my sister?"

Steven shrugged it off. "No way. She creamed me, but nowhere nearly as bad as you did."

This was enough to make Starfire happy and determined for the rest of the night, continuing her reign of supremacy over Steven in _Guitar Hero_.

* * *

The next night was....a little different. Starfire found a moment in which every Titan was in the living room.

Blackfire was nowhere in sight. Perfect.

Seizing the opportunity, she pulled out a stash of video tapes, popcorn, and sweets, and walked over to them. "Friends, I invite you to join me in the togetherness of a stay-home movie night. I have brought popcorn and non-cotton candies. So tell me, what sort of movie shall we view?"

"Action!" declared Robin.

"Comedy!" insisted Beast Boy.

"Adventure!" suggested Sora.

"Sci-Fi!" said Cyborg.

"Horror." stated Raven with a dark tone.

"Rock N' Roll!" yelled Steven, putting horns up on both hands. Everyone glared at him. Going chibi in his embarrasment, Steven merely chuckled and backed away.

Starfire, meanwhile, dropped all of the supplies in dismay. "Perhaps a double feature?" she suggested without enthusiasm.

"Forget the flicks, kids. We're going out!" Everybody turned to see Blackfire standing in the doorway, wearing clothing that was...slightly more exposing of her body. Steven attempted to hide his face from the scene, for it had turned bright red.

"I heard about a party downtown," she continued. "Cool crowd, hot music, and all in a creepy run-down warehouse."

This convinced every person in the room to go, including Raven. They walked out eagerly. "Hey sis," said Blackfire. "I raided your closet. I hope you don't mind me borrowing your look."

Starfire sighed as Blackfire left the room, Steven drooling as he followed her out."Why would I? You have already borrowed my friends."

* * *

The party was exactly as described. Bright lights, loud music, pretty cool crowd of people. Blackfire strutted through the crowd. "Step aside, Earthlings! The queen of the galaxy has arrived!" Then she turned to the Titans. "I hope you bigtime superheroes aren't afraid of a little dancing."

"Not me," declared Beast Boy. "I'm a party animal. And Cyborg can do the robot!"

"I have a little experience," Sora smiled. "I can handle it."

Soon, Beast Boy, Robin, Cyborg, and Sora loosened up a little bit, waving their arms around in their party mood.

Raven and Starfire just watched the situation without any attempt at dancing. "This party is pointless," decided Raven.

A pale, teenage boy with black hair that parted over one eye and a black T-shirt with a skull upon it walked up behind Raven. "Everything's pointless. Wanna talk about it?" Raven shrugged and followed the boy to a dark area behind a stack of boxes.

Starfire sighed and walked to a corner and up a flight of stairs leading to the roof. She looked around the city and the horizon as she watched three comets flash through the sky. "Perhaps I do not belong here after all."

"Of course you don't."

Startled, Starfire looked to the door through which she had used to get to the roof. Standing in the doorway was Robin. "You belong down there, having fun with the rest of us."

"Speak for yourself, man," Steven piped up as he came up the stairs. "This club has too much loud, hip-hop dance music with repetitive words and no meaning. I need some rock n' roll running through my veins!"

Ignoring Steven, Robin walked over to Starfire. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" she insisted with well-acted enthusiasm. "Everything is wonderful. The loud music and blinding lights are most enjoyable."

Robin raised his eyebrow and just stared. After a moment, the alien girl gave in. "Everything is not wonderful. I am happy to see Blackfire, but she rules at the video games, she knows the cool moves, she is able to share depressing poems, and she gets along well with all of you." She drooped her head in sadness. "And I am nothing like her."

"No, you're not," agreed Robin. "But I think that's-"

A window panel near them opened. "Hey, boys!"

Robin looked over, and Steven froze, at hearing Blackfire's voice. She now sported a wig on her head, despite her sleek black hair, which was now hidden beneath it. The wig was....pink. "How do I look?"

"Pink." Steven said. "Just....pink."

"Look, could you give us a minute?" asked Robin.

As Blackfire started to descend back into the warehouse, another song, a fast-paced dance kind of song, began playing inside. "Ooh! I love this song!" squealed Blackfire. Before Robin could say anything about it, he was yanked by the arm back inside.

Starfire bowed her head in rejection. Then she felt another hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Steven's smiling face. She grinned back.

A sudden noise alerted their attention to the large sign that read _SOTO_ on the building. Out of the **O** sprung a mechanical jellyfish, identical in every way to the first one that attacked Starfire. "AAH!" screamed Starfire.

"Oh, son of a-" the rest of Steven's statement was drowned out as he called his Keyblade. The tentacled machine barely noticed him as it headed straight for Starfire. Being a hero that he was, Steven leapt in front of her and swung his Keyblade at the tentacles, beating them back relentlessly.

* * *

All the other Titans enjoyed the party and Sora was no excpetion. That is, until he saw shadows moving across the roof through the windows. One shadow had a large, bulky form that seemed to have tentacles. Another was beating at the tentacles with a strangely shaped sword. The third clearly had long hair. Suddenly, the two forms were grabbed by the tentacled shadow. Sora watched as the strange sword fell to the ground. He could see its shape clearly now.

A key.

Sora gasped and leaped onto a stack of boxes. "Guys!" He called out to his teammates. "Starfire and Steven are in trouble!"

Beast Boy and Cyborg looked to Sora in time to see him pulled into the shadows by familiar mechanical tentacles. They rushed to help him when another mechanical jellyfish crashed into both of them, pushing them to a wall.

Behind another stack of boxes, the gothic boy was asking Raven about showtunes when the jellyfish flew past them, holding Sora. Raven flew towards it and lifted a few wooden boxes with her powers. She tossed them at the 'head' of the machine and they smashed against it, causing it to release Sora.

Soon after he was free, he spotted a shadow coming towards the. He rolled aside as the first jellyfish crashed through the roof, holding Starfire and Steven. The impact caused its grip to loosen, allowing Steven to knock it aside.

It did no use. It simply got up and joined the other jellyfish in its assault on Starfire, who flew around to avoid it. It became more difficult when a third one busted through the ceiling windows and followed her as well.

Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Sora each attacked one of the giant jellyfish. Cyborg and gorilla-Beast Boy tossed aside two effortlessly. Sora shot a Firaga spell at the dome, aiming for the same circuitry that killed the last one.

Except he couldn't see it. The fire glazed harmlessly over the top and Sora was pushed back into a wall, breaking him through it. He looked up to see Robin rushing over. "What happened?" he demanded.

Sora summoned his Keyblade before getting on his feet. "Starfire's attacker has friends after all." He leaped back through the wall to continue the fight. Robin made to follow, but paused. He noticed Blackfire simply standing at the top of the stairs.

Robin eyed her suspiciously. "Didn't you hear him? Starfire's in trouble!"

Blackfire sheepishly removed her pink wig. "Uh....right." With sparked motivation, she followed him.

* * *

Starfire lifted her head, peering out of the dumpster that she had been catapulted into. After a second, she felt the lid closing. She screamed as she realized the three jellyfish had found her and were carrying her away. They would have gotten away, too. But _Kingdom Key_ flew through the air and sliced cleanly through one of the tentacles. The jellyfish dropped the dumpster and it landed on the ground.

Sora held out his hand as his Keyblade returned to him. "Teen Titans, go!" Sora and Robin yelled in unison.

Before anybody could spring into action, Blackfire flew through the alley, chasing the jellyfish. Her eyes glowed purple, the color of her starbolts. A beam fired from her eyes and connected with the underside of the machine. The effect was instant.

The jellyfish exploded as if it had a bomb implanted inside. Two more shots from Blackfire's eyes made quick work of the other two.

The other Titans immediately rushed over. "Ah yeah!" yelled Cyborg. "Good times!"

"Nice shooting, Tex!" congratulated Beast Boy.

"Very nice," agreed Raven.

"How'd you know where to hit them?" asked Steven.

"Uh...lucky guess?" offered Blackfire.

"Luck had nothing to do with it," decided Sora. "That was just skill."

"Maybe you oughta join the team!" suggested Cyborg.

"Me?" said Blackfire, startled. "A Teen Titan?"

Starfire lifted the lid of the dumpster and gasped.

* * *

Up on the roof of Titans Tower, Starfire stuffed her small, pink, knapsack with a few more possesions before placing the straps over her shoulders. She stepped to the edge of the building, preparing to take off.

"It is good that Blackfire is here. She will make a better Titan than I did."

Not a second after her feet lifted off of the ground, she heard a voice behind her.

"So you're just leaving without saying good-bye?"

She looked over to see Robin and Sora. She tried not to make eye contact as she lowered herself to the roof. She dropped her bag and stared into her teammate's mask. "I-"

A noise behind her caused her to swing around. A large hovercraft leveled itself with the roof. A large, eight-foot tall thing stood upon it. It had red armor all over its body and its hands looked like crab claws. It reached on outward and shot out a slimy green tentacle. It collided with Robin and punched him backwards. Sora summoned his Keyblade, only to have the tentacle wrap around it.

Sora held it firmly, pulling back, but the creature's physical strength exceeded his by too much. He was pulled face-down to the ground,

Starfire shrieked as it came back around. It twisted itself around her body until she was wound up in it. Her eyes glowed in fury, but she was too incapacitated to strike back as the tentacle threatened to pull her away.

With a yell, Robin got up and rushed after her. Wth no thought to his own safety, Robin jumped off the roof and reached out for Starfire's foot. He moved quickly as he held his arm out, needing only a few more inches.

That was as close as it got. His hand swiped empty air as the craft sped away, carrying Starfire with it.

* * *

The red creature used its claw to press a large, red button. The platform that Starfire stood upon was covered in a oval-shaped dome of energy that she could not break through.

"Prepare to leave Earth orbit," ordered the creature to another that looked just like him. "We have the Tamaranean girl."

The other creature punched in a few commands before glaring at Starfire. "When we return to Centauri, you will pay for what you have done."

Starfire protested, but the tentacle bonds covered her mouth, muffling her cries.

Below the craft, two people hung. Sora had lodged his Keyblade into the ship and held on by it. Robin clutched the broken metal created by Sora's Keyblade. "Nobody's taking her away." Robin said, determined.

The two leapt from their spots to climb to the top of the ship. As they landed, the creatures turned around and spotted them. Sora held his Keyblade in a battle-ready stance. "Our friend is staying here."

Each creature charged one opponent. One fired purple bolts of energy at Sora unrelentlessly from its claw. Sora spun his Keyblade in a circle to deflect each one. Then he altered his tactic by pushing towards the creature. The energy flew back at him, damaging his armor and the weapons inside.

The other waved its slimy green tentacle at Robin. Robin deflected it with his staff before batting it with the long piece of metal. The tentacle was pushed over and struck one of the engines, damaging it. The ship immediately jerked and everyone aboard stumbled.

"No!" One creature cried out. He fumbled with the steering mechanism to no avail ."I can't control it!"

The fall to the ground was becoming more important as the surface came closer to them. Robin placed his palm on the red butoon, releasing Starfire. He ripped off the tentacle. Making sure to the hands of Robin and Sora, the alien flew off the the craft as it crashed to the ground, uplifting a cloud of dust. Starfire lowered them to the ground as she watched.

"Star! Robin! Sora!" Beast Boy rushed up, followed by the other Titans.

"You guys okay?" asked Cyborg.

"For now," confirmed Sora. "But these guys probably aren't finished."

Correct in his assumption, the team watched the two creatures stomp towards them. One grasped his own chest with his claw. "In the name of the Grand Centauri Empire, you are all under arrest!" He removed his claw, revealing a badge with an alien symbol upon resting in his palm.

Steven's eyes bulged. "What?"

"Uh.....you can't be the good guys," decided Beast Boy.

"Yeah," agreed Cyborg. "_We're_ the good guys."

"We are Centauri police," the creature shot back.

"The Tamaranean girl is a liar and a thief!" yelled the other creature. "She has committed countless crimes in the Centauri system."

"But I have never been to the Centauri moons!" protested Starfire.

Robin suddenly figured it out. "But we all know somebody who has."

He removed Starfire's moon-diamond necklace. That's when everyone realized who it was. "Blackfire!" They yelled.

Robin tossed the stolen jewel to the alien police. "You've been chasing the wrong girl."

"Uh, guys?" said Steven, pointing to the sky. "Beautiful criminal at one o' clock."

For sure, the speck he referred to, heading for the atmosphere, was Blackfire.

"She won't get away, Starfire." assured Robin.

Starfire's eyes changed to green in an instant. "No she will not."

She took to the sky, completely invisible to her sister. Until she rose up directly in front of Blackfire, crossing her arms. "Hello, sister."

"Aw, you're so cute when you're mad," cooed Blackfire. "Look, I know I didn't tell you I was leaving, but you know how much I hate 'good-byes', and-"

"Your secret is revealed, Blackfire," stated Starfire. "You are a criminal. You have committed several major offenses in the Centauri system and you were going to let me take your placed in jail for it!"

"Well.....yeah." admitted Blackfire, with a smile.

"You will return what you have taken and turn yourself over to the police."

"Really?" demanded Blackfire. "And what will you do if I don't?"

Starfire shyed away from her sister, costing her moment to defend herself. Blackfire charged her fist with her starbolt energy and, with a malicious smile, punched her sister back towards the ground. "I always was the better fighter."

Unconvinced, Starfire rose back to the sky area. "Not anymore!"

Blackfire growled before unleashing a fury of purple starbolts. They flew over Starfire's head as she flew straight for her sister. She charged her own green energy and launched a single bolt. One bolt. That was all that was needed.

It struck Blackfire in the chest and she grunted in pain. She charged her hands with energy, ready to strike again. Then she felt something slide around her. A green tentacle that pinned her arms to her sides.

The Centauri police officers stood upon the fixed hovercraft below them. "Blackfire of Tamaran, you are under arrest!" said one officer.

Blackfire struggled against the binding of the tentacle as she was pulled in. Starfire waved to her. "Farewell, sister! Although you did betray me, it was still very nice to see you again!"

Blackfire scoffed. "Next time it won't be so nice. I'll get out of jail little sister. And I will get even!"

Starfire averted her gaze and lowered herself the the ground. She looked to see her entire team cheering for her.

"Well done," said Robin. "You did a good job, Starfire."

Starfire nodded sadly. "Yes...I did."

Robin noticed her unease. "What's wrong?"

Starfire shook her head. "I am simply sad for my sister. But I am also glad that the truth was discovered before I was replaced."

This completely upset the minds of the other Titans.

"Say what?" cried Steven.

Sora shook his head. "We'd never replace you, Starfire."

Starfire looked at them, unsure. "But you were having fun with her. Then Cyborg said she should-"

"Look," explained Cyborg. "I'm willing to admit that Blackfire was....interesting. But not enough to replace anybody!"

"Yeah, Star!" agreed Beast Boy. "No one can take your place!"

Starfire smiled. "Thank you, my friends. If you will allow it, I wish to initiate a group hug!"

The area was stuck with dead silence. The other Titans quickly formed a huddle. After a few moments, they dispersed, with Raven at the head. She let out an exasperated sigh.

"Just this once," she grumbled.

Starfire squealed in delight and spread her arms. She quickly grabbed hold of her teammates and squeezed extremely hard, even for her massive strength. Bones cracking was a sound that filled the air for the next few seconds. A few seconds seemed like an hour as she released them.

"I can't feel my arms anymore...." groaned Steven, before his trademark collapse to the ground.

They took a moment to straighten themselves out before returning to Titans Tower, preparing for another day.

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY!**


	8. Forces of Nature

A violent thunderstorm raged outside of Titans Tower.

Inside, something else was happenening.

Beast Boy, in the form of an ox, used the strength of this animal to pull a large, elastic band over a metal hook.

"Hey, man. What's up?"

Beast Boy stumbled, almost dropping the elastic band. He pushed it with his ox-head until it looped over the hook, then transformed to his human self. He turned around to see Steven standing there, looking excited. "A prank?"

Beast Boy grinned mischieviously as he held up a small balloon filled with some kind of liquid. "Trust me, dude. It's gonna be sweet!"

"What're you doing?" said a cold voice.

Both boys leaped in surprise. Beast Boy dropped the balloon as he did. From the air, he watched it fall, as if in slow motion, to the ground.

Steven slid across the ground and delicately caught it in his hands, keeping it intact. He glared up at the person who emitted that voice. "Don't sneak up on us like that, Raven."

Raven frowned down upon him. "You two aren't pulling another ridiculous prank, are you?"

Steven stammered. "Uh.....you're half right." He smiled, almost evilly. "Because Beast Boy says it's going to be brilliant!"

Beast Boy pulled a large, rolled up blueprint out of nowhere before he began explaining. "Remember last week when Cyborg put red dye in my shampoo and I turned brown?"

As the painful memory of his teammates laughing coursed through his head, a consistent sound was heard and Beast Boy turned around to see Steven snickering. After a moment, Steven saw Beast Boy glaring death at him and ceased immediately.

"So it's payback time?" he muttered meekly.

"Oh yeah," confirmed Beast Boy, pounding his fists together. "So without further ado, I give you-"

He opened up the blueprint, revealing the plans for a somewhat complex catapult. "-the Beast Boy Insta-Lube 9000! When Chrome-Dome comes around the corner, he'll pull the trip wire, releasing the mother of all rubber bands-" He held up the balloon in his hands. "-and get covered in motor oil!" He puffed his chest proudly. "Pretty clever, isn't it Raven?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "You're a genius," she said sarcastically.

Loud tapping noises were heard from the other side of the hall. Beast Boy gasped. "He's coming!"

Before they could say anything, Raven and Steven were pulled behind the corner to watch.

Raven attempted to stop him. "I don't think-"

"Shh!" uttered Beast Boy.

Steven considered the possibilities. "What if they're not-"

"Shh!"

.........

"Why are we hiding?"

Beast Boy felt his heart stop. That voice wasn't Steven's or Raven's. As he turned around, it actually sounded more like-

"AHH!" The green teeenager screamed as he saw their robot friend crouching down behind them. "Cyborg?!? You can't be Cyborg!"

Cyborg raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I can't?"

"But if Cyborg's here," realized Steven. "Then who's that?"

He pointed down the hall at the shadow that was turning the corner at opposite end of the hallway. The shadow appeared was tall, skinny, and appeared to have very long hair. Beast Boy leapt to his feet as the figure came around the corner.

Starfire, oblivious to the mechanism that was several feet in front of her, stepped on the trip wire without noticing what it was. The wire tugged at a lever tied to the metal bar with a hook. As promised, the rubber band stretched over it was released, along with the balloon nested upon it. Beast Boy's hands closed around the empty air where the balloon once was as it flew through the air.

Starfire looked blankly forward as she watched the projectile come straight at her face. She was clueless as to what it was and simply gasped as it smashed upon her. The balloon burst open, unleashing its contents upon her face.

The four other Titans looked upon her as the brown liquid drenched her entire head. Underneath it, her eyes opened, apparently unaffected by the dripping oil. "Is this punishment?" she asked. "Have I done something wrong?"

"You didn't do anything, Starfire," assured Raven. She pointed to the culprits of the prank. "They did."

Starfire turned her gaze to Steven and Beast Boy. They shuffled nervously under her harsh stare.

"Star, I swear, I didn't mean-" began Beast Boy.

"We weren't trying to-" started Steven.

The words were choked back inside of them, not able to get them out. Without anything else able to surface, Beast Boy just chuckled lightly. "Just remember to change that oil every three thousand miles."

Starfire straightened her body in order to tower over the two Titans. "On my planet, we have a name for those who do such terrible things! You are....are-" She took a deep breath. "KLORBAG BARBLERNELKS!" she bellowed.

The two flinched under the insult.

"We're what-bags?" puzzled Steven.

Cyborg crossed his arms. "You heard the lady."

Raven shook her head. "You are such klorbags."

Before Starfire's glowing eyes had the chance to unleash a world of hurt upon the newly-dubbed klorbags, their leader, followed by Sora, turned the corner. "Guys, trouble!" they yelled simaltaneously.

* * *

The thunderstorm continued to rage outside. One bolt of lightning struck the bridge with several cars driving across. A truck swerved and stopped right before the crater left where the lightning struck. As the smoke cleared, two figures were seen in the exact spot where the bolt had struck.

The taller of the two, who was also ver plump and donned a bright blue and black clothing and wristbands looked around. "Shall we amuse ourselves here, brother Lightning?"

A short, skinny man with bright, spiky hair and a suit of orange, cackled in response. "Of course, Thunder! Thunder and Lightning can do whatever they please!"

Laughing, they both released blasts of pure energy. Blue and yellow, thunder and lightning. Sparks began falling from the wires on the bridge and splattered the surface. As the energy died, a lightning mark was left upon the truck's steel cargo trailer. Thunder clapped his hands together, starting a massive tremor that shook the bridge and cars, blaring alarms as it did.

The two brothers laughed wildly. "Let all who come this way know that Thunder and Lightning were here!" cackled Lightning.

"Hate to break it to you, but you guys have a lousy sense of humor!"

The brothers turned to see the Teen Titans standing upon the truck. "This ends now!" declared Robin.

"You dare to command Thunder and Lightning?" Lightning charged his fits with electricity. "Taste my power!" He fired the ball of electricity at the truck.

The Titans dispersed as his power struck the cargo trailer of the truck. Its contents spilled, revealing it to be chicken, now fried thanks to the assault of Lightning.

Steven plucked a chicken wing from the pile. "Taste his power...." He took a bite out of the chicken. "Not bad."

Sora shot Firaga spells and Starfire blasted starbolts at Lightning as he leaped from car to car, Lightning returning the barrage with his electricity. One car exploded before them. Starfire and Sora covered their eyes as the smoke cleared. When they opened them, electricty surged through their bodies and blasted them backwards.

Steven rushed for Lightning to make him pay for his attack on Sora and Starfire. Without even thinking about what he was up against, he pointed his Keyblade at the man of electricity.

"THUNDER!" he yelled. A large mass of lightning shot down from the sky and completely annhilated the spot that Lightning stood upon. After a moment, it was clear to Steven that what he had just done was a bad idea.

Lightning laughed, not having a scratch upon him. In fact, he was now glowing with even more power than before. "Wow, that was refreshing!" Lightning cackled. Using this absorbed energy, he simply fired it straight back at Steven.

Still shocked at what had just transpired, Steven was unable to deflect the barrage and he was shot back like his friends, sliding back and stopping next to Starfire.

He awkwardly glanced at Starfire and chuckled. "Not my best battle plan ever, eh?"

She sniffed disdainfully and flew off. Steven sighed in annoyance, reminded of Starfire's irritation after the prank.

Cyborg exchanged hand-to-hand blows with Thunder, matching his strength. As they launched their final punches, their hands interlocked, neither getting the upper hand.

Figuring this out, Thunder reared back his fist, charging the blue energy of thunder that he wielded. Seeing this, Cyborg charged up his own sonic cannon. They brought their fists forward to collide with each other, creating a sonic explosion of great proportions. It catapulted them both back a great distance.

Cyborg bounced painfully upon the concrete while Thunder simply created a cloud, which he landed upon and flew towards the Robin. He blasted blue energy at the team's leader, who swiftly avoided it. He flipped gracefully upon a support for the bridge, which disconnected. He held on as it swung through the air and crashed into Thunder, knocking him to the ground.

Meanwhile, Beast Boy snuck up and grabbed Lightning with massive panda bear arms. He momentarily struggled to break free from the animal's grip. But after that, he simply sent jolts of electricity from his body to effectively shock the green Titan.

Raven, seeing a distraction, rushed for Lightning and tossed several cars at him with her powers. Lightning's electricity, unfortunately, finally made Beast Boy relinquish his grip.

Now fully aware, Lightning fired multiple bursts of electricity at the cars, successfully annhilating them. Raven raised a shield of dark energy as the vehicles exploded around her. The explosions ceased and she lowered them. Just in time for Lightning to blast her away with his powers.

Beast Boy held his head in pain before the shadow of Thunder rose over him. "Your animal powers are impressive green one. Now rise so that we may have a great battle." He prepared, charging his own powers in his hands.

Beast Boy slowly got to his feet. "Why are you doing this?"

Thunder simply smiled. "It isn't sporty to attack an unready opponent."

"Forget that!" cried Beast Boy. "Why are you wrecking everything?"

For the first time he could remember, Thunder hesitated and pondered his position in life. "Um....because....it is amusing?"

"Amusing?" yelled Beast Boy. "Do _they_ look amused?"

Thunder looked upon the people hiding behind their cars, huddled against their families, hoping they would not get hurt. In fear of what _he_ was doing.

"This isn't funny," lectured Beast Boy. "It's wrong and it needs- AH!" He was cut off as Lightning blasted him away from the area.

"The thrill of victory!" declared Lightning. "Come, brother! Let us seek amusement elsewhere!" Power that seemed to come from the elements themselves came down from the sky and struck the spot they stood upon, causing them to vanish quickly.

Beast Boy pushed rubble off of himself and turned to Starfire, who nursed her wounds nearby. "Wow, that was a shock."

Starfire scoffed. "Hmph!" She floated away, not making eye contact.

"So, I take it you're still mad?" guessed Beast Boy.

"Trust me," grumbled Steven as he walked by. "She's still mad."

The team regrouped at an area of the bridge, where Robin began issuing orders. "Alright, we need to find them quickly. Cyborg, Raven, Sora, you take the south, east, and west sides of town. I'll take the east side." He directed his attention to the remaining three. "You three search from the skies."

Beast Boy looked uncertainly at Starfire, who crossed her arms. "Uh......maybe Cyborg should come with us instead?"

"And I can't fly!" added Steven, hopeful.

"No." They frowned miserably as their leader shot down their ideas. "We need to cover as much ground as possible."

"Darn...." grumbled Beast Boy.

"Dude....." groaned Steven.

Cyborg waved innocently. "Have a nice flight, klorbags."

* * *

Starfire and Beast Boy, as a pterodactyl, flew over the city. Steven hung from Beast Boy's pterodactyl leg, seeing how he couldn't fly. They floated down when they spotted a small area with broken pieces of stone scattered in a line.

Steven observed the wreckage. "I think we just missed them."

Beast Boy nodded. "Either that, or this is the ugliest modern art I've ever seen."

They both chuckled, casting glances toward Starfire. She merely averted her eyes. "You are not funny. You are klorbag barblernelks." She walked away with that statement.

The two Titans slumped their shoulders and walked after her. "Starfire, can we just put this behind us?" begged Steven. "You can't stay mad forever!"

"What do I have to do? Use the face?" Beast Boy smiled. "You know you can't resist the face!" At that moment, he transformed into a kitten with the most 'AWWWW, it's so cute!!!!' inspiring eyes ever seen.

Starfire merely huffed before walking away. Beast Boy's wide kittens eyes followed her for a moment before transforming back into his human self.

"Dude..." Steven spoke slowly. "She resisted the face."

Beast Boy actually dropped to his knees. "Come on, Starfire. This is no fun."

"Wrong again, green one!"

The three Titans looked to the sky to see Thunder and Lightning trying to blast them yet again. Steven quickly cast a Reflega over himself before shooting Firaga spells at his adversaries. Soon, he deactivated his shield and leapt into action. Lightning fired a burst of electricity at him as soon as he lowered his guard.

But this time, Steven was ready.

He held up his obsidian Keyblade and deflected the electricity. The sparks from the blocked bolt of lightning scattered around, fracturing some of the area around them. Lightning growled and intensified his power. Steven didn't waver, keeping his feet planted on the spot.

Taking advantage of this distraction, Starfire shot a green beam at Lightning. The electric maniac saw it coming, unfortunately. He amplified his blast at Steven, finally pushing him back. Lightning took this moment to raise both his hands and fire electricity at both opponents. Starfire kept her beam running while Steven recovered his Keyblade to defend himself.

Meanwhile, Thunder was having serious issues with Beast Boy. He fired multiple blue shots of energy at the ground, but Beast Boy nimbly avoided them as a mouse. When he was almost under his foe, the green shape-shifter transformed into a ram and launched Thunder into a wall of concrete, making a dent in the shape of his large body.

The animal reverted to his human form and glared his opponent in the eyes. "I don't want to hurt you. And something tells me you don't want to hurt me either."

Thunder nodded blankly. "Pain does not amuse me."

"If that's true, then stop what you're doing!" ordered Beast Boy. "Because if you keep this up, innocent people will get hurt!"

As he spoke, he failed to notice a red light flashing in the shadows. Only when it shot a giant beam of red energy did he see it coming. It crashed through many pieces of stone art. The last thing he saw was the massive amount of boulders crashing around him and his friends before he saw only blackness.

* * *

Astonished by what had occured, Thunder and Lightning looked around for the source of the blast. Their answer was a voice of the shadows.

"Your powers are quite impressive."

Lightning swung around to face the shadow from where the voice had come. "And who are you who commands power such as that?" He charged up his electricity in impatience. "Show yourself!"

"As you wish." From the shadow of a stone structure, a man with a flat, cone-shaped straw hat and a large, red kimono stepped into the light. "See? I'm just a humble old man. My powers draw from nature, as do yours. Come with me and you can sew as much destruction as you please."

Lightning danced in delight. "Yes, more fun!" He rushed after the old man, then halted as he noticed Thunder standing by, not moving.

"Will we hurt anyone?" asked Thunder.

This statement was met with awkward silence.

"What is this nonsense, brother?" demanded Lightning.

"The green one says our fun is wrong and that innocent people will be harmed from it." replied Thunder.

Lightning scoffed. "The green one is poisoning your mind! How could such amusement be wrong?"

"Your brother speaks well," began the old man. "But answer me this: would it really matter if it hurt anyone? You are unique, gifted, better than those people. Nothing should interfere with your enjoyment." The old man turned his back to them. "If entertainment is what you seek, follow me, if you want."

"Yes!" cheered Lightning. "Let us go, brother. More fun awaits!"

As his brother walked off, Thunder glanced back at the pile of rocks that covered the area, knowing that his three opponents were probably under it. Including the green one.

Was he still having fun after this?

* * *

A small green spider peeked out from a crack in the rock. It crawled to the edge of the pile and transformed into its true form.

Beast Boy sighed heavily, thankful that he was alive. But there were people still under there. "Star! Steven!" He tugged rocks away from the pile, frantically trying to find his friends.

"Star, please answer me!" cried Beast Boy. "The thing that happened in the tower: I didn't mean for it to happen. And you could've gotten hurt and...."

He collapsed to his knees and spoke sadly. "I'm sorry. I didn't say it, but I'm really sorry."

A tall shadow loomed over him as he looked to the ground. His head lurched to see who it was.

His red-headed alien friend stood before him, smiling. "Starfire!" Beast Boy transformed into his cute kitten form and leapt into Starfire's arms, purring against her chest.

Starfire chuckled. "I am glad you are not harmed as well."

The happy green kitten bounced to the ground and turned back into an apologetic Beast Boy. "I'm so sorry, Starfire. Can you forgive me?"

"I already have." replied Starfire. "Both of you."

Beast Boy's stomach lurched. During this whole time, Steven was still buried under the rocks. In a flash, he was back over at the pile, trying to dig his other friend out. "Steve! Answer me, buddy!"

On cue, a groan was heard from another area. Soon after, the pile of rocks began moving. In one final flash, the rubble was blasted aside, revealing a dazed Steven, wobbling around as he walked.

"D-did anyone read the license plate on that Hummer?" he slurred. "I swear, people who drive those ain't nothing but trouble." He collapsed the the ground.

* * *

"This is child's play!"

The amusement that the old man had led Lightning and his brother to was nothing more than a group of scarecrows with foreign symbols scratched upon them. "There is no fun in blasting frail targets such as these!"

The old man smiled. "Are you certain? Try. You may like what you see."

Lightning frowned. Charging up a bolt of lightning, he fired at the first scarecrow. It instantly caught fire. Lightning's eyes widened, surprised at how entertaining this was. "Dancing lights!" he exclaimed.

Thunder eyed the burning structure of sticks and leaves. The old one had implied that their fun would hurt the innocent, and yet this was harmless. The fire was perfectly contained and didn't spread.

With a smile, Thunder fired his own energy at another scarecrow. It flashed even more brightly than Lightning's had, even bringing about a thunderous noise. "Most pleasing indeed!" laughed Thunder.

"See, brother?" gestured Lightning. "There is no harm in our fun."

"That's right," agreed the old man. "And there is much more fun to be had."

Laughing with delight, Thunder and Lightning took it to the next level. Lightning's legs transformed into a tail of electricity that followed him as he delightfully blasted more scarecrows. Thunder stood upon a conjured cloud as he annhilated his targets.

By the time they were through, the many posts burned a fire that made an outline of a giant person, the height of at least six average people.

"Magnificent!" Lightning clapped his hands with glee. "More targets, old one!"

"Yes, please!" agreed Thunder. "Let us have more fun!"

"That won't be necessary," said the old man. "You've done all you need to do." With a smile, he raised his ancient staff into the air. "Rise!"

One by one, red beams of energy formed between the scarecrows, connecting the dots until it formed a full outline of a figure. Soon, the entire structure was burning brightly with an intense flame. The old man stuck his staff into the ground and dark, black monsters with bright yellow eyes came up from beneath the Earth.

A swarm of Heartless marched into the fire, becoming one with the flames. Infused with Heartless and fire, the ground itself began to give way and rose, forming a large, burning Heartless. It stood on two legs and bowed before the old man. The old man pointed his staff at the city.

"Burn it, Fire! Burn it all!"

Thunder stared at the monstrosity, knowing that he and his brother had helped to bring it to life. "Brother...." He solemnly glanced over at Lightning. "What have we done?"

The monstrosity roared and marched towards the city.

"Hey!"

The creature halted, then turned around. He saw the Titans standing in its path. Robin took head of the group. "Someone should've told you this before; play with fire-"

"You're going to get burned!" finished Sora. "Titans, go!"

After a moment of awkward silence, Sora glanced over and saw the strange expressions on his teammates' faces. He chuckled innocently. "Uh....right. Sorry."

"Don't mean to spoil the awkward moment," Steven spoke frantically. "But that thing's a Heartless!!"

The fiery demon of darkness had begun its march to the city while the Titans were squabbling. Immediately, they began pursuing it.

"Fire can't spread if there's nothing to burn." Raven held out her hands. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Trees that stood in the path of the demon were yanked from the earth and cleared away from the area that it walked.

"Good idea, Raven." commended Robin as he ran. "Sora, Star, Beast Boy, Steven, help her out!"

Starfire fired her starbolts at other trees, knocking them down. Beast Boy transformed into a T-Rex and toppled them with his massive tail.

Steven and Sora used their Keyblades to slice through the thick trunks that held these natural skyscrapers in place.

Cyborg leapt into the air and charged his sonic cannon. When he reached the ground, he let it off, creating a giant shockwave that headed straight for the Heartless. Almost immediately, the creature toppled to the ground. Not wasting any time, Steven and Sora combined the power of their Blizzaga spells to coat the fallen beast with ice.

As they lowered their weapons, a cloud smoke and frost rose from where the creature laid.

Beast Boy narrowed his eyes as he peered through the smoke. "Is he out?"

"Out cold!" chuckled Steven. Beast Boy laughed along with the joke.

Then the Heartless rose from the ground and roared, burning more intensely than before.

Raven groaned. "You _had_ to say something, didn't you?"

Steven hurled his Keyblade at the fiery beast only for it to be knocked aside as if it were nothing. Growling under his breath, Steven looked beyond the beast to see who was responsible. His eyes widened when he saw an old man holding an staff with an ancient symbol upon it. If possible, they widened even more when he saw Thunder and Lightning standing only a few feet away.

As Steven called his Keyblade back and rushed uphill, all thought left his mind and left nothing but the old man. Nothing remained. Not the Heartless, not Thunder and Lightning-

Not even the fact that Robin was sprinting alongside him.

* * *

The old man smiled as he saw his Heartless wreaking havoc upon the forest, soon to reach the city. He turned to Thunder and Lightning. "Go, young masters! This Fire Heartless is very much your creation. They have no right to destroy your fun!"

Lightning laughed in agreement. "Yes! We must fight!"

Thunder placed his hand upon Lightning's shoulder. "But Brother-"

"Stop annoying me with your foolish excuses!" Lightning jerked his arm away from his brother. "Now come!"

In reluctance, Thunder nodded. A bolt of lightning struck their location and they were taken to their new destination: the bottom of the hill.

Meanwhile, the old man turned to face Robin and Steven, who had just reached him. "Robin, Steven. We meet at last!"

Steven raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'at last'?"

Robin's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

The man answered with a battle cry, swinging his staff towards the duo. Steven shifted his fighting stance and deflected the wooden artifact. Despite his old appearance, the man was brutally strong. The man pushed Steven back and lunged again. This time, Robin utilized his own metal staff and deflected it as well. Before long, however, both boys began to falter under the strain of the assault.

This man wasn't at all what he seemed.

* * *

Raven flew towards the fire monster and held her arms out. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Rather than aiming for any trees, the dark energy flew directly at the Heartless, all but putting out the flames. Unfortunately, the creature recovered its fire even more quickly than it had last time. Curling its arms into its chest, the Heartless flung outward, releasing a giant wave of fire at its enemies. Sora barely managed to put up a Reflega as the wave pushed him back, along with the other Titans.

Hearing another sizzle of energy, he launched himself in front of his teammates and held up his Keyblade. An electrical current struck it and he was locked in a power lock with Lightning.

Thunder rushed to the area. Beast Boy quickly transformed into a ram and thudded against the massive man, knocking him into a tree.

Thunder shook his head clear and charged his energy. "Stand aside, green one!" His enemy simply cracked its animal knuckles. Thunder got to his feet slowly, keeping his guard up. "I do not wish to harm you."

Still angry, Beast Boy reverted to his human form. "But you want to let that creature destroy homes and innocent lives?"

"No...." murmured Thunder.

"Then what're you fighting for?" demanded Beast Boy.

Thunder looked down solemnly. "My brother and I.....the old one; he says we are unique, gifted....better."

"Gifts don't make you better," said Beast Boy. "Just different. It's how you use them that counts."

* * *

Sora kept his ground as Lightning continued to intensify the barrage of electricity. Both grunted, pushing their opponent's strenght farther with each second. After what seemed like hours, Sora lunged forward, striking Lightning with the massive energy, but doing little more than pushing him back.

At that moment, the fatigue of the night began to take its toll on Sora. He fell to the ground, panting with exhaustion. Sticking his Keyblade into the ground, he began to use it as support. But Lightning stepped forward, not waiting for his opponent to regain his strength.

Sora was literally struck by more lightning and collapsed, sprawled against the hard ground. His Keyblade disappeared, with its wielder not having any strength left to wield it.

Lightning cackled over his defeated opponent. "It seems your power has limits." Electricity crackled in his hand. "But mine has none!"

Sora faced his enemy with wide eyes, hardly in any position to defend himself.

Then, a blue burst of energy struck Lightning and pushed him into a tree. Sora sighed in relief. "Thanks, Cyborg!"

"Uh, Sora?" He looked behind him to see Cyborg staring in disbelief. "That wasn't me."

"What?" Sora scratched his head. "If you're there, than who-?"

He looked in the other direction to see his savior. What he saw was most unexpected.

Thunder stood defiantly, looking upon his brother. Lightning stood up slowly, shocked. "You have betrayed me?"

"We have done wrong, brother." insisted Thunder. "Our fun must stop!"

"No....." grumbled Lightning, twitching with anger. "No one commands Lightning!" He formed a ball of electricity in his hand. "Not even Thunder!"

Thunder was struck by the power of his own brother and launched back into a large molding of stone. Lightning marched forward to finish him off. He raised his arms and mustered a giant ball of energy as he stood over his fallen ally.

Thunder merely looked up sadly at Lightning. "So tell me brother, are you still having fun?"

Lightning gritted his teeth, looking at the sad eyes of his brother. Suddenly, it hit him. The longer he looked, the more he felt....guilty. He lowered his arms and his electricity dispersed. "No.....No I'm not."

Thunder rose to his feet and pointed to the bottom of the hill. "Those who we believed to be our enemies are also special, but they use their gifts for good. But us: we waste it on dangerous fun." Thunder placed a hand upon his Lightning's shoulder. "If we are so special, then let us act that way. We must help them."

Lightning looked to the ground in shame. "But how? Look around us. Our gifts can only be used to destroy."

"Alone, that is true." agreed Thunder. "But together, we have another gift."

Lightning smiled as he realized this. Their elemental energy struck the ground where they stood and they went into the clouds that were their domain.

* * *

Cyborg opened up a fire hydrant and pushed the waves towards the Heartless. Beast Boy, in elephant form, used his trunk to expel a stream of water. Starfire and Raven held a massive hose. Sora used Blizzaga spells at its head, creating blocks that melted instantly and drizzled upon the monster.

But it didn't do any good. The fiery Heartless marched forward, not hindered in the slightest. It raised its arms to the sky, spreading fire outward to envelop the the houses and its inhabitants with searing flame.

It only halted when a booming thunder was heard from the sky. Soon, flashes of lightning accompanied it. The Titans looked up at the growing storm. It became darker and more violent with each second.

Amidst all that they could swear seeing two familiar silhouettes standing in the clouds.

Rain began pouring. Hard. But even a barrage of rain was no harm to any normal Heartless.

Luckily, this wasn't an ordinary Heartless. This one was on fire.

It roared in pain as its flames were battered by a constant barrage of raindrops falling upon its body. It crumpled to the ground and was reducing it to little more than a pile of darkness.

The Teen Titans cheered in their victory. Sora walked over to the remaining mound of darkness and summoned his Keyblade. His triumphant grin remained as he plunged it into the pile. The power of the Keyblade finished off the horrendous beast and a glowing, purple heart floated into the sky and vanished before everyone's eyes.

Up the hill, another battle was about to come to a close.

* * *

Robin thudded across the ground after being dealt another painful blow from the old man that now held Steven to the tree, his staff pressed against his chest. "Really, boys, I had expected much more of a challenge from you."

As if breaking a taboo, Steven called his Keyblade to his hand and sliced the staff in two. With nothing left between them, he smashed his Keyblade across the man's torso, pushing him straight towards Robin. With a vengeance, Robin brought his boot into the side of the man's face.

It collided and the man recoiled in pain, letting out no sound. As he peered back up at his opponents, they saw that his face seemed to be....breaking. There were cracks in it and what appeared to be skin had begun to disappear to reveal something metallic underneath. The man gritted his teeth and threw something at his feet.

A cloud of smoke appeared and when it faded, he was gone. The only thing that remained was a small medallion with a symbol upon it. Robin bent over to pick it up. A very disfigured S was displayed upon the round piece of metal.

Robin clenched his hand around it with such strength, it was a miracle that the medallion didn't collapse. "_Slade_."

* * *

As the night turned into dawn, Thunder and Lightning faced the Teen Titans.

"I am sorry for the trouble we have caused." Thunder spoke.

Lightning bowed before the Titans. "I am also sorry." Then he gestured to Beast Boy. "Thank you, green one. You have taught my brother so much and he has taught me as well."

Beast Boy smiled. "Don't thank me. Thank the person who taught me."

Starfire floated before the two brothers. They bowed respectfully.

"Thank you, ma'am," they said simaltaneously.

"And thank you," replied Starfire, "for helping us defeat the flame monster."

Robin stepped forward and tossed two round, yellow objects at the brothers. They each caught one and looked at what they had been given.

A digital communicator with a large white **T** rested in the palms of their hands.

"Consider yourself honorary Titans." Robin smiled. "If you ever need help, you know who to call."

The brothers nodded. "And we shall return that favor if you need us." Lightning replied.

After exchanging thank-you's and farewells, the brothers departed and the Titans were left looking at the sunrise.

"So, uh..." Steven walked up to Starfire. "Sorry about the prank."

"I have already forgiven you." said Starfire. She placed her hand on her chin in deep though. "Though I must admit, I am curious as to why you assisted Beast Boy in his revenge upon Cyborg when you yourself were involved with Cyborg's prank against Beast Boy."

Cyborg turned around at hearing this. "Say what!?!" In an instant, he loomed over Steven in anger. "You and I score a platinum prank on BB and then you turn against me?"

A second later, Beast Boy also towered over the cornered teenager, just as angry. "You helped Chrome-Dome turn me brown? That stuff didn't come off for a week!"

"Whose side are you on?" they cried at the same time.

Steven gulped. "Uh....I go with whoever has the best prank?" he whimpered meekly.

Soon after, Steven knew he was screwed.

"GET HIM!"

And Steven took off with Cyborg and Beast Boy hot on his heels.

The other Titans stared in disbelief. Before too long, the trio was out of sight. But they could still hear faint protests from Steven down below.

"Hey, hey, guys, come on! Can't we just all- hey, what're you doing with that tennis racket? OW! Arms are not meant to be twisted like that! SOMEONE HELP MEEEE!"

_

* * *

_

_**PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY!**_

**P.S: Sorry for taking so long on this one.**


	9. Masks

A red computer chip floated in midst of a shining light surrounded by walls, floors, and ceilings of the same advanced technology. It didn't have any additional security upon it. It might as well have come with a sign that said "Take it!"

Which is what this soldier was sent to do. Adorned in a black suit with silver, metallic lining, just like its master. It reached its hand out to pluck the chip from its poorly guarded location. But when it reached out, it hesitated. This location seemed quiet. _Too_ quiet.

It raised what would've been its eyebrow when it discovered a spiky-headed, black-haired boy hanging from the ceiling.

Robin glared hard at the warrior. "Tell Slade if he wants this, he can come get it himself!" He detached from his perch and let loose a roundhouse kick to its head . Quite strong, it slid back without much damage. Still, it was startled when the lights turned on and found itself surrounded by five other teenagers.

Six, actually. It founds this out too late as Steven swung his Keyblade, fueled with a Fire spell, across its steel-plated armor.

He twirled his Keyblade as he admired his work. "You think Slade will get the message when he doesn't come back?"

"Didn't think of that," answered Robin. "But if it gets him out in the open, then that's fine with me."

A sudden explosion from the ceiling fill part of the room with smoke. When it cleared, several copies of the fighter they had just defeated stood before them.

Robin gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Titans! Go!"

Right off the bat, the Titans' leader pounded one of the soldiers into a wall, rendering it more useless than it was while functional.

Starfire blasted one from the air as it leaped towards her. It rolled past another one, which jumped to the ceiling. Seemingly out of nowhere, it pulled a small pistol that fired a yellow laser across several cylindrical devices attached to the ceiling.

Starfire gasped as one of them fell for her. Robin vaulted to her side and pulled her away before they were flattened. As they reached the ground, three more blasters were aimed at them. But before they could retaliate, a cube-shaped computer system slid into Slade's servants and smashed them against the wall.

Cyborg dusted his hands off. "Amazing what you can do with computers these days."

Raven raised a shield of dark energy to block the incoming wave of lasers that threatened to burn into her. She was almost too distracted by the burns they made in the floor that she barely raised another strip of energy to block an incoming punch. Then she defended against a second and third strike from her foe before it kicked her legs out from underneath her, pushing her to the ground.

Right on cue, the green ram that was Beast Boy slammed his horns into Raven's attacker and it collided with the wall. He didn't take a chance and rammed it again, knocking it out cold.

Raven could hardly believe what she was seeing, even as Beast Boy chanted in victory. "You owe me bigtime, you owe me bigtime!"

He squealed as he heard a loud BANG behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see another soldier, dazed and unconcious from its collision with two computer panels. He looked back over at Raven to see her glaring at him with her hands on her hips.

Beast Boy chuckled slightly. "Call it even?"

But through it all, most of them avoided destruction. Some even avoided confrontation. One in particular jumped all over the place until it finally sprang for the column of light, snatching the computer chip away from its post. Not letting it get away, Sora flung his Keyblade, tripping the solider and sending the chip flying through the air.

"I got it!" cried Beast Boy. He morphed into a large, green anteater and used his new, incredibly long tongue to snatch the chip from the air. He skidded to a stop by the wall and gripped it tightly.

But he didn't notice another fighter jumping down from the ceiling. It landed right on his tongue. He screamed in pain and the chip popped up into the soldier's waiting hand. It threw a device at its feet that let out a cloud of smoke. When it was clear enough to see, the Teen Titans saw absolutely no one but themselves.

They began to walk away. Beast Boy trailed behind the team, his voice lisping becuase of his tongue. "That tathted tho nathty."

Robin hardly noticed, as he was already rushing down the hallway. "Titans, spread out and find him!"

They quickly put that room far behind them as they ran. Soon, they came to a chamber with several openings that led in many directions. Each Titan took a different pathway. Only one could be the right tunnel to go through.

It seems fate would have it that Robin took that tunnel. Hardly a few steps down the corridor, he spotted an open vent. Leaping down into it, he landed in a stream of water that went up to his ankles.

The soldier with the chip was running away right before him. When it noticed him, it just kept running. It blasted its laster at Robin, but he ran past it without even blinking. It turned a corner and saw a dead end. Quickly analyzing the situation, it fired its laser into the cement ceiling just behind it. The top part crumbled and collapsed, leaving rubble between it and capture.

No way to go but forward. It used its laser to cut a large hole into the wall. What it used for eyes grew in size when it saw Starfire floating right outside.

"I am asking you nicely to please stop running and-"

_ZAP_! The minion showed no mercy as it fired its laser at Starfire. It struck and rendered her weak. She began plummeting towards the ground. Her attacker leaped out of the opening he had just cut, as if to go after her. Rockets ignited on the bottom of its feet and it flew upward, heading away.

Until it was pulled down with a hook.

Robin had fired two of his grappling hooks. One clasped around Starfire before she hit the ground and the other tied itself around the thief. Unfortunately, it still had the rockets. Robin yelled in the heat of the moment as he and Starfire were the unwilling followers behind their enemy.

Finally, it crashed down upon the beach as both Titans slammed into the water behind it. Starfire sat up and spat water out of her mouth. Looking over, Robin grasped the criminal by the scruff of his clothes. "Alright, talk! Who's Slade? Why does he want this chip?" He grasped the minion's mask. "And why are you working for-?"

He gasped when he pulled off the mask. This was a just a robot, as were the others. Behind the mask was circuitry, as well as a small screen. Robin hardly recovered from his shock when the screen flickered and displayed a person. The man he'd been chasing, standing in the shadows of an unknown location. "Well done, Robin. I think your skills are improving."

Robin gritted his teeth. "Enough games, Slade! What do you want?!?"

"But you do lack patience," Slade replied from the screen. "If you are that curious about my intentions, perhaps we should meet, face to face."

Robin only glared harder at the screen. "Tell me where you're hiding and I'll be there in a heartbeat!"

"Patience, Robin. Patience." The screen flickered and died and Robin could no longer see the his foe.

Robin tossed the robot to the ground, irritated. This was striking his last nerve. Slade was the most dangerous criminal he'd faced. The fact that he had used Heartless in their last encounter made that clear. It wouldn't be easy bringing him down.

* * *

"Okay, guys. All work and no flicks makes me a dull Beast Boy."

Beast Boy stood in front of the TV while Starfire, Raven, Sora, Steven, and Cyborg sat on the couch. The boys and Starfire watched expectantly while Raven just kept reading her book. "So, my fellow couch potatos, which will it be?"

Beast Boy held up a movie with a picture of two samurai warriors on the front. "**Ultimate Ninja Showdown 8**?" He held up another movie with a Godzilla-like monster for the cover. "Or **Maniac Fury: Attack of the Protozoids**?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Gee, they both sound soooo good." she mumbled sarcastically.

Sora's eyes twitched back and forth between the two movies. "I wish you'd just gotten one movie, Beast Boy. I can't decide between masterpieces that easily!"

"No kidding, man," agreed Steven. "I don't think I can choose either."

Cyborg stepped up in front of the group. "You guys may call it a tough choice, but you know what I call it?"

"What?" asked Beast Boy.

Cyborg grinned widely. "DOUBLE FEATURE!"

"WHOO!" Sora and Steven cheered.

Starfire looked around the room, remembering the absence of their leader. "Perhaps Robin will enjoy potatoing the couch with us. Tell me, is he still-?"

"-in the same place he's been since his chat session with Slade?" finished Beast Boy. "Yeah."

Cyborg shook his head. "He's been taking that whole thing way too seriously."

"Not to mention he's pushing us, too," added Sora. "He's been having combat practice a lot more often. He's been sparring with me and Steven so many times, I feel like he's just trying to find our weak spot."

"It's not like it's that hard," shrugged Beast Boy. "I mean we totally creamed you guys the night you got here."

Sora glared at Beast Boy. "Thank you," he grumbled. "We'd just gotten over that."

Steven sighed and got to his feet. He mounted his hand on the couch and hopped over it.

"Where are you going?" asked Cyborg.

"I'm gonna check on Robin," replied Steven. "See if I can get him to chill out."

"We've tried before," warned Raven. "If it's even possible for him to relax, it's painfully difficult to make it happen."

Steven opened up the doors to the hallway and began heading towards Robin's room. "Well, we'll just wait and see, then."

* * *

A solitary light shined in Robin's room. He loomed over the table over which the light hovered. His wall was plastered with newspaper articles that had articles about Slade. Several clues left by his adversary rested upon the table. All this stuff and not a single clue to go on about where Slade was or what he was up to.

Robin's eyes narrowed in deep confusion. "Who are you?"

He heard a small _swoosh_ behind him. He glanced back briefly to see Steven enter.

"Hey, Robin," he said. "Whatcha doing?"

Robin moved his gaze to the table. "Just thinking. I need to know what Slade wanted with that chip."

Steven sighed. His leader was delved into this mess pretty deep already. If he was willing to take a break, he had to be convinced. It was now or never.

"Robin," began Steven. "Me and the others are kind of worried about you. Ever since you spoke to Slade, you shut yourself up in here and haven't come out."

"I have a lot to think about," Robin didn't even look up at his friend.

"You're working too hard, man." Steven coaxed. "Take a break. Overworking yourself is going to make your thoughts very unclear."

"I can't take a break," determined Robin. "Starfire almost got hurt. It could be worse next time. I don't even want to have to think about what could happen."

Steven let out a breath he'd been holding. This really was a lost cause. "Well, good luck." He headed for the door. Robin didn't even acknowledge him leaving.

Then Steven stopped. What the others had said had made him wonder. Their leader obviously pushed them harder because their current matters involved Slade.

But why did Robin specifically decide that he needed to spar against him and Sora as much as he had? Steven had been counting the battles for competitive purposes. He'd lost count after at least ten sparring sessions, but they kept coming and coming again and again. Robin was an agile fighter already, but the Keyblade was an unfamiliar weapon to him.

But after all these fights, that probably wasn't the case anymore.

_I'm thinking too much_, Steven thought. _I'm turning into Robin_.

As he took another step, his thinking continued. During Steven's last encounter with Slade, whether it was directly or with a decoy, Slade had expressed personal interest in both Robin and him. Why was this? He hadn't been around long enough for Slade to know anything about him.

Trapped by his curiousity, Steven turned back towards Robin.

"Robin, you and I have sparred many times since the last time we had to deal with Slade." He began walking slowly towards the table. "Me and Sora haven't been on the team for long, so I can guess that we're the only ones whose weaknesses you didn't have figured out yet."

Robin's head spun around to face Steven. Evidently, this is something he hadn't expected anyone to figure out. _Perfect_. thought Steven. He stepped forward again and stared into Robin's mask, the closest thing to looking at his eyes. "What are you planning?"

Robin stayed silent. Steven didn't let up his gaze. After another moment, Robin let out an exasperated sigh.

"I have an idea on how I can catch Slade."

Steven raised his head. "Alright. I can't believe I'm saying this, but-" He took a deep breath, making sure he was thinking right. "I'll help you."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Look, I know I just said you're working too hard and need to take a break. But hear me out." Steven reasoned with Robin. "Slade didn't seem to have it out for destroying things. There's.....something deeper to it....."

He stayed silent for a moment. "I think it might involve you and me." Steven held his hand in the air. His Keyblade appeared and his hand clenched around the handle. "I'm tired of worrying about it. The sooner Slade is caught, the sooner we can get on with our lives."

Robin's feet stayed planted to the spot he stood. Slade was planning something and he had to admit, it did seem to have more than just technological intent. It was true that Robin had been pushing himself lately and Steven was a fresh, unstressed mind that would be a great aid. But if the plan succeeded, Steven wouldn't need to overthink anything before Slade was caught.

Robin slowly nodded his head. "Here's what we need to do."

* * *

Five of the Teen Titans were gathered on a rooftop. Inside the building they were on, the computer chip that had almost been stolen the previous night was being nabbed again.

Cyborg's wrist communicator displayed Robin's face. "Me and Steven are taking out a contingent of Heartless on the far side of town. After that, we're tracking a lead on Slade. Sure you guys can handle this without us?"

"No problem." assured Cyborg.

Robin gave a nod before his face vanished from the communicator. Just as it did, a door leading to the roof of a building opened up. The person who stepped out was clearly the thief, but it was not the average crook. This person wore a black suit with a ragged cape and a white mask. Across the forehead of the mask and the chest of his suit were the symbols of a red X.

It didn't take long for him to spot the Teen Titans. Cyborg raised his sonic cannon. "You working for Slade, tough guy?"

The thief's masked eyes squinted at the team. "Red X works alone." He raised his hand, which also had an X branded on the palm, and shot a projectile of the same shape. It headed fast towards the Titans, who scattered as Cyborg shot it down.

Beast Boy leaped for the attacker as a lion. Red X fired another projectile at Beast Boy. Halfway to its target, the X melted into a gooey substance that splattered Beast Boy. Once he connected with the ground, he was stuck. None of Beast Boy's animal forms could break through the it.

Starfire's starbolts and Raven's dark magic couldn't touch Red X either. He lept aside with perfect precision to avoid their attacks. He fired an X at Starfire and it clasped around her arms, pinning them to her sides. Raven hardly watched her go down and held up her hands. "Azarath Metrion-"

An X latched over her mouth before she could finish.

Only two Titans remained standing. Sora rushed forward and pointed his Keyblade at Red X. Cyborg likewise aimed his cannon. "Surrender now and we won't have to hurt you," said Sora.

"Give up after coming this far?" questioned X. "I don't think so." He pulled out another X and threw it at his feet. A cloud of smoke burst out and shrouded him. Sora and Cyborg looked around to see where he would strike from.

After hearing a small burst, Sora flung his Keyblade out, cracking an X that would've hit him directly. "You'll have to do better than that!" laughed Sora.

At that moment, he was tugged in the other direction. "WHOA!" He slammed against the wall of an air conditioner on top of the roof. He stood up and tried to return to the battle, but was being held back by something on his wrist. He looked at the air conditioner to see his hand latched there with a small X. "I guess he took it to heart," said Sora.

Cyborg flung himself at Red X, but he was too agile and soon placed an X on Cyborg's back. Unexpectedly, it opened up a panel, revealing Cyborg's circuitry. Before long, Red X was messing around with it.

"Hey!" protested Cyborg. "Who told you how to shut me down?" As he spoke, Red X simply pushed him down like a statue. Then he jumped off the roof and literally disappeared, almost just like teleporting.

"Whoa," gasped Sora. "How did he do that?"

"I don't know," replied Cyborg. "Who is that guy?"

* * *

Slade hit a switch, activating a large screen on the wall. A man in a very strange, but very unique, suit was displayed. Who was he? That didn't matter. The thing that caught Slade's eye in an instant was the chip his drones had failed to steal the night before being held up by this captor. Meaning he probably had gotten past the Teen Titans in order to get it. An impressive feat indeed.

"Rumor has it you're interested in this," spoke the figure.

"I'm interested in many things," replied Slade. "Who are you to offer this?"

"X." said the figure. "Red X."

"Hmm. Catchy." Slade didn't even raise an eyebrow. "So what are you proposing to me, Mr. X? A sale? Or a gift?"

"A partnership," Red X responded. "I give you the chip and you'll cut me in on your plans."

"Partnership?" echoed Slade. "My, my, we are ambitious, aren't we?" He turned his back to the screen. "However, my trust can't be won with a simple chip. If you're really interested in an alliance, then I'm going to need to see more."

The eyeholes of the mask squinted. "Just tell me what you want."

* * *

"Wow," Steven was dazed at the story he'd just heard. "I had no idea Red X was so tough."

Robin pounded his fist into his other hand. "No kidding. We should've been there!"

"No duh, you should've been there!" cried Beast Boy, pointing to the goo still displaced in his hair. "I'm looking at two months of bad hair days after what he did to my 'do!"

"HMMMMHHMMMM!" protested Raven. They hadn't been able to remove the X-shaped projectile from over her mouth.

Steven chuckled. "I dunno, Raven. I kinda like that look on you."

Raven's forehead throbbed when she glared at him. Cyborg pinched the edge of it and prepared to pull. "Hold still, Raven." With one swift yank, he ripped the gadget off of her mouth. The other Titans winced at the sound of it coming off. Raven's insides screamed, ready to just let out a scream, but she hardly even let her lip tremble. Barely any time passed before she wore her usual, unemotional expression.

"Ow." Raven shook her head. "Even if you guys had been there, it wouldn't have mattered."

"Yeah," said Sora. "The guy knew all of our fighting styles and the quickest way to beat us."

"He definitely had gadgets with your names on 'em too," added Cyborg.

Steven dipped his head. "Sorry, guys,"

Starfire patted him on the back. "Please do not feel guilt, for we are undamaged."

"HELLOOOOOO?!?!" Beast Boy frantically yelled, practically tearing his goo-infested hair out.

Starfire's face turned a bit red. "Well, mostly undamaged."

"So, did the lead on Slade help you guys at all?" asked Sora.

"Nothing," Robin replied. "Just a dead end."

"We got all the Heartless, but that was it," agreed Steven. "Well, we should probably get back to work."

He stood up and headed for the door, which Robin was already heading through.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Steven spun back to face them and almost flinched when he saw almost everyone giving him a suspicious stare. He could feel his face flushing a bit as they looked at him. Sora stepped forward. "Last night, you were all about getting Robin to take a break. Why the sudden flip?"

Steven shuffled nervously, slowly inching towards the door. "Well, he showed me some of the stuff he'd found and-" He put his hands up, as if he was giving in. "I got curious. Guilty as charged." He opened the door.

"You can't, dude!" Beast Boy jumped forward and landed on the ground, clutching his ankle. "Who'll I watch T.V and movies with?

"Cyborg." replied Steven, trying to pull his leg away.

Beast Boy's grip didn't relent. "Who'll play video games with me?"

"Cyborg."

"Who'll be my roommate?"

"Cy-" Steven tripped over his statement. After a moment, he sighed. "Okay, I guess you got me there." He let his leg go limp and Beast Boy let go. "Dude, don't worry about it. The sooner Robin gets what he wants done, the sooner he'll go back to normal."

"What if _you_ become a workaholic because of this, man?" asked Cyborg. "There's only room for one of those in this tower. And that's Robin."

Steven pressed a button on the wall, which opened the door. "I promise," he assured. "What we're working on won't take long."

The team was left in confusion behind that door. Steven took a few steps down the hallway and turned a corner. He paused for a moment and let out a massive amount of breath he'd been holding. Just as he was afraid of, they had begun asking questions.

He opened up his communicator, which had been buzzing for a minute now.

"What is it, Robin?" he asked.

"I've got the location on the next chip," replied Robin. "It's in the tech sector downtown."

Steven nodded momentarily. Suspicious, he looked to see if he was being overheard. He heard no one, but dropped his voice to a whisper none the less. "Robin, I think the others are starting to catch on. As far as I know, they don't know what we're doing, but the mere fact that I'm working with you is starting to make them suspicious."

"I've noticed," said Robin. "If we keep pulling off situations where we aren't around when Red X is pulling robberies, I think the whole plan could be ruined."

Steven narrowed his eyes in thought. "You've already got something prepared, don't you?"

"Yes," confirmed Robin. "After tomorrow, any sketchy guesses about what we're doing should vanish. Here's the plan."

Steven listened for a few minutes about the plan they were going to initiate. He thought it over. He detected little flaw and only positive results to be made from it. It was brilliant. _I shouldn't be surprised_, he thought. _This is Robin I'm working with_.

"I'm counting on you," said Robin. "Don't hold back."

Steven nodded. "I was about to say the same thing."

* * *

The next night, after a day of hardly any work, the Titans were all called to their living room by an alarm. Sora was the first to fly through the doorway. "What is it, Robin?"

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Huh?" Other than the rest of the team, nobody else, including Robin and Steven, was in here. "Robin? Steven?"

"It's research-related," yawned Beast Boy, having been yanked out of bed for this. "Right now, they're probably filling out note cards at the public library or something."

"We were."

Beast Boy yelped as Steven's voice came out of the giant T.V. They could see from his surroundings that he was running. "But we spotted Red X pulling a robbery in the tech sector. We're in pursuit right now. Get here as fast as you can."

"You got it, dude," groaned Beast Boy, who was beginning to doze off. "We'll be there in a....in a......" With that, He feel asleep on the spot, drooling a little bit on one side of his mouth. Not wasting any time, Cyborg yanked him along.

* * *

They arrived in the tech sector, as Steven had instructed. Cyborg pointed at a wall. "There!"

As he spoke, Red X jumped over it into the area, Robin and Steven hot on their tail. Red X turned back for a moment and tossed a net. Steven rolled underneath it, but it caught Robin full on. Steven halted and turned to his captured comrade. A mistake he failed to realize quickly enough. For then an X pinned his hand to the wall, just like he had Sora's.

"Guys!" yelled Cyborg.

"We're fine!" shouted Robin. "Get X! Go!"

The rest of the team obeyed and followed Red X, who jumped down a flight of escalator stairs to the subway system. The rest of the team soon followed. Cyborg placed a finger on the side of his head. "Don't worry. I've set my ocular analyzer to scan in multiple sub-harmonics in the EM spectrum."

"Do you come with subtitles?" Sora asked. "I don't speak science."

"My eye should spot him even if he's invisible," explained Cyborg. He scanned the surrounding area, looking for Red X. He looked at all his surroundings, but saw nothing. He sighed as he looked straight ahead. His technology had failed him.

Then Red X jumped down right in front of him. He wasn't invisible. He had just been hiding. He slugged Cyborg across the face and sent an X towards him, as well as one towards Sora. Just like last time, it locked onto Cyborg's control panel and latched Sora to the wall.

The only thing different was that both now crackled with electricity. Sora pulled his arm from the wall as a wristband he wore used the electricity to shatter the X. Cyborg smiled as his body started doing the same thing, causing the X on his back to shatter as well. "You're gonna have to learn some new tricks, man." He gripped Red X by the cape and flung him across the station. Red X landed over by the others.

"Surrender!" commanded Starfire. "We do not wish to fight you."

"Sorry," said Red X. "I'm not through with you yet." With that, he pulled Starfire along and flung her across the room, toppling Cyborg. He brought his feet under Raven's ankle. Then he grabbed her by the feet and flung her into Beast Boy, who quickly dodged it by turning into a bird. Then he turned into a ram and slammed Red X towards the tracks.

Seeing an opportunity, Sora leaped across to subdue him. But Red X had caught onto a cement cylinder on the other side. He used his momentum to swing around and smash his foot into Sora's face. Hardly seeing it coming, Sora flew across the room and right into the middle of the tracks. He got right back on his feet. But as he surveyed the area for Red X, a flash blinded him. Half-covering his eyes, he saw a subway headed right for him. His eyes went wide as it came upon him.

But then he felt himself being pulled aside, just before the subway could hit him. Breathing heavily, he stood up and looked to the Teen Titans. They were on the other side of the subway tracks. So who had saved him? He looked to his left to see Red X standing there.

"What the-?" Sora looked back and forth between the tracks in his astonishment. "Did.....you just save me?" Before he could get any answers, Red X kicked Sora in the chest and brought him down. With all his foes taken care of, Red X made his way to the stairs and leaped up, disappearing from sight.

The other Teen Titans made their way over to Sora, who got to his feet, groaning in pain. "You okay, dude?" asked Beast Boy.

"I'm fine," Sora reassured. He looked towards the stairs. "But who _is_ that guy?"

* * *

Red X sat before his computer. Slade's shadowy, masked face was displayed once again. "Impressive, Red X. I tapped into the security cameras to watch your performance. You made quite an entertaining show out of the Teen Titans."

"Glad you enjoyed," replied Red X, holding up both computer chips, the red one he already possessed and the bright blue chip he'd stolen tonight. "Is the audition over?"

"Patience," said Slade. "Trust is destroyed easily. But creating it takes time." Slade's face vanished from the screen, replacing his image with that of yet another chip. "One last test. Then we'll meet to discuss your future."

"Good." X shut off his computer screen and swiveled around in his chair. A teenage boy stepped out of the shadows and into the lone spotlight around the desk. Only for this boy did Red X remove his mask. For they were the perpetrators behind the identity.

Steven and Robin looked at each other. And both of their minds echoed the same thought.

_It's about time we met face-to-face._

_

* * *

_

Most of the team gathered around the computer set up in the living room. "Okay," Cyborg pointed to two green dots displayed on a map of the city. "This is where X has been. All we gotta do is find out where he'll strike next."

Raven inputted the information into the computer. After a few moments, more green dots showed up on the screen until there were at least a dozen more than before.

"Well, this is just great," grumbled Sora.

Starfire looked behind to see Robin and Steven walk in the room. "Friends, our efforts to capture the Red X will benefit greatly from your help."

"It'll have to wait," Robin replied, to the dismay of the rest of the team. "I'm close to a breakthrough on Slade."

"Even more wonderful!" Starfired commended. "Perhaps we could be of assistance to-"

Robin turned back. "Sorry, but this is really important." He turned to his current partner in research. "Steven, I think I've got this on my own tonight. Can you help the others?"

Steven nodded. "No problem." With that, Robin left the room. With that, Steven let out a sigh of relief. He plopped down next to Beast Boy. "Looks like I'm finally going to be able to help you guys."

"For once," muttered Beast Boy in reply.

Steven flinched a little bit, then chuckled. "Okay, I deserved that." He turned to address the others. "Guys, I'm starting to get what you were saying about Robin."

"About time!" cried Sora. "We probably would've taken Red X down by now if we had extra backup."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but," Raven took a deep breath. "Sora's right."

Sora spun around to look at Raven. "What're you implying?"

"Don't worry about it," Steven interrupted. "Robin is definitely in the danger zone of this situation."

Cyborg scratched his head in thought. "Y'all think he's losing his grip?"

"No!" Starfire outright disagreed. "His grip is not lost! He works harder than any of us to catch Slade before something bad happens! He works to save us!"

"Yeah," Beast Boy shot back. "That's why every time we need him, he disappears."

After a few moments of silence, Steven edged his way into the computer seat and began typing.

"Whatcha doing, man?" Cyborg asked.

"I'm trying to calculate where Red X will strike next," Steven replied. "He's stolen computer chips the last couple of times, so it's likely that he'll repeat that." He hit some keys and some of the dots vanished from the digital map of the city. "Remove all places without technology," he mumbled, his fingers flying across the keys. After a minute or so, images of both computer chips that were previously stolen showed up in the sidebar.

Sora looked back and forth between Steven's keystrokes and the screen, where dots were vanishing, one by one. "How're you doing that?"

Steven paused his quick assault on the keyboard. "I picked up a few tricks from Robin." He turned back and his fingers resumed their fast paced task. Only a moment later, one dot was left. Steven hit the return key and the image of a green chip was displayed alongside the previous two. "That's where he'll be."

The others looked wide-eyed at the results.

"This is really impressive, man." Cyborg patted his teammate on the back. "About ten times faster and you could be as efficient as me."

"I have an excuse!" Steven protested. "I'm good with computers, but you _are_ a computer!"

For the first time this week, the Titans enjoyed a laughing moment together. Raven even dared to smile a little bit.

But not Robin. For tonight was the night it would all come to an end.

* * *

Red X walked into the building. It didn't even have security over the chip besides the spotlight that surrounded the floating piece of green circuitry. _Too easy_, he thought as he plucked it from its position.

"Excellent work, Red X." Looking to an identical spotlight, Red X looked over to see his associate standing there. Slade had finally agreed to meet him face to face. "I honestly couldn't have done it better myself."

If Slade could've seen underneath Red X's mask, a smile would be shown. "So, do we have a deal?"

"Indeed," Slade confirmed. "You and I are very much alike. It seems only natural that we should work together." He held out his hand. "Now, I believe you brought those for me?"

"And just what're they for?" Red X asked, holding up the three chips. "I need to know what we're planning." He squinted his eyes at Slade. "Partner."

"Please be patient," Slade encouraged. "You can't expect me to trust you with sensitive information that quickly, can you?"

It was Slade's turn to surprise. "Robin."

Red X's eyes were widened. He was so shocked about this whole situation that he didn't even take notice of the net that sprang from behind him and scooped up the chips, carrying them into Slade's waiting hand. Soon, the rest of the building's lights were on, revealing a huge payload of Slade's robot soldiers, as well as many giant fighter mechs.

"Your plan was quite clever, I'll admit." Slade tossed the net of chips up and down in his hand. "But I knew. You and Steven have been tracking me down, trading places as Red X each night, using holograms of you to fool the rest of your team. But not me."

"I don't need to fool you," Red X replied. "I just need to take you down."

"Then try, if you think you can."

Red X took a fighting stance. But before he could make any moves, the roof above him rumbled and burst open, letting out a cloud of dust. "Teen Titans, go!" Cyborg's yell was heard and one by one, the rest of Robin's teammates shot down into the chamber, taking down some of Slade's mechanical army.

Red X started making his way towards Slade, but was yanked back as Sora pinned his Keyblade to the base of his cape, proceeding to grab it with his hands as well. "Gotcha!" Sora yelled victoriously. Slade took this welcome opportunity to start dashing out of the building.

"No!" Red X yelled, pointing frantically at the door. "Go! Get him!"

Steven, who had been trailing behind the team, leapt through the roof. "Let him go! You don't understand!" Red X is-"

Red X tore off his mask. "Me!"

Sora's eyes, as well as the eyes of the rest of the team bugged out. Robin was the face underneath the mask. "Robin?! What the-?!"

"Slade's getting away. Come on!" Robin yanked the cape out from under the Keyblade and he took for the door, Steven following close behind. Sora rushed for it too, but was stopped by a line of mechs. Sora groaned and summoned his Keyblade.

"I have better things to do," Sora grumbled. "So get out of my way!" He swung his Keyblade, hard, against of the of mechs. The force of it pushed the mech into the mech next to it. But there were still too many more to take down.

_Well_, Sora thought to himself. _Better get started_.

* * *

Outside, a chase was commencing. Robin, now in his regular attire, and Steven jumped across buildings in pursuit of Slade. At one final building, Slade jumped across an entire street, landing upon a construction site bathed in red light from a Japanese sign on one side. Then he just stood there, waiting, as if to taunt the other two. Not taking retreat for an answer, Robin took a running leap and landed likewise, rolling into the red light.

Steven was about to follow, but soon spotted the street below him. "I hate heights," he grumbled. Looking for an alternative, Steven spotted a power line trailing right above the site. "Perfect." He jumped out into the air and swung his Keyblade over the power line. He gripped the blade end with his other hand and zip-lined over to the other side, coming to stand in the red light with his ally and adversary.

"Careful," taunted Slade. "Wouldn't want you getting hurt."

"We aren't the ones who're going to get hurt," Steven growled, gripping his Keyblade tighter. "Now hand over the chips."

"Oh, come now," Slade replied. "We had a deal, didn't we?"

"Sorry to disappoint you," Robin snarled. "But we have a strict rule against giving stolen technology to psychos!"

"That's very noble of you two," Slade commended. "But stealing to trap me was not. Two wrongs don't make a-"

"Don't ever lecture me!" Robin snapped. "Whatever you're planning ends now!"

Slade popped his knuckles. "On the contrary, boys, it's only beginning."

Slade began moving offensively. Steven gripped his Keyblade in preparation. "I hate it when they say stuff like that."

With flawless precision, Robin and Steven began trading blows with Slade. Robin was an expert kung-fu artist and it appeared that Slade was not uneducated in that art. Robin aimed a punch at him, he swiftly avoided it. Steven attempted a strike with his Keyblade and it was blocked by the steel plating that covered Slade's suit.

Suddenly, Slade pulled a trick move. As Robin made a punch, Slade caught it in his palm. Using the leeway, he flung Robin into Steven. Both were brought to the side of the building and both toppled over the edge. Still light-headed, Steven stabbed his Keyblade into the side of the building, holding on for dear life. Robin was left gripping the edge as tightly as he could.

But the edge couldn't take much more. It began to crack and Robin's fingers began slipping. Then the edge broke under his grip. "AAH!" Robin screamed as he fell towards the busy street below. Luckily, someobody reached out and grabbed his arm.

But it was....Slade? Robin stared up at his nemesis, intrigued. "You...saved me?"

"I'm not through with you yet," was Slade's answer. He flung Robin back up. The Titan's leader regained his balance and struck back at Slade, connecting with his stomach. This hit knocked the chips out of Slade's grip and the net containing them rolled far behind them. Slade, unconscious, slid backward and slammed against the ridge of the building, resting there.

Steven groaned as he pulled himself up. "Well, at least we got him." He turned to the incapacitated bad guy. "Now let's see who's behind that mask." He yanked it off.

"Patience, Steven. You and Robin will meet me face to face some other time."

Steven frowned. Another screen had been underneath the mask. Just another proxy. The real Slade was still out of their reach.

"Oh, and speaking of time," Slade continued. A number 5 appeared on the screen. After a second, it changed to 4.

3.

Steven and Robin rushed back as far as their legs would carry them.

2.

1.

BOOM! A giant explosion completely annhilated the surface of the roof for several feet. The construction site still lay before them, undamaged.

"Well," shrugged Steven. "At least he didn't get the chips."

* * *

Steven and Robin stood before the other Titans. They all had expressions that flickered between shock and anger. Robin sighed. "Go ahead and yell at us. I can't really blame you."

"We don't wanna yell, man," Cyborg assured. "We just want to know the truth."

"Yeah," agreed Beast Boy. "Why didn't you tell us it was you underneath the mask?"

"Why didn't you include us in your plan?" added Sora.

"And why did you create the identity of Red X in the first place?" Starfire finished.

Robin calmy explained. "We needed to fool Slade, get close to him so that we could bring him down. If you guys knew it was one of us behind that mask, it wouldn't have worked. You would've held back."

"Not like it matters, anyway," Steven said miserably. "Slade found out and we don't know anything about him."

"There is one thing you know," Raven said. "You two are similar to Slade in this aspect: Slade didn't trust you, just like you didn't trust us."

The two bowed their heads. "We're sorry."

"It is alright." Starfire accepted their apology.

"Just don't exclude us next time," Sora said. "We can put all this behind us when Slade is behind bars."

Robin scanned the expressions of his teammates. They were now rid of doubt and mistrust and full of determination and strength. Smiling, he nodded.

"I'll make sure of it."

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY!**

**P.S: DAMN! Sorry it took so long. I was just not very motivated to write. Anyways, I hope this was worth the wait and I hope it doesn't happen again.**


	10. Apprentice: Part 1

"Well, I think that went pretty well," Steven gloated after the night's mission.

"You kidding me, dude?" Beast Boy was practically hopping up and down in excitement. "All of that loot we saved was worth like five-thousand bucks! That's the biggest heist in this town's history!"

"You all did great," commended Robin. "We've definitely done our job."

"Yeah, we did!" cheered Cyborg. "This calls for celebration!" Without further delay, he sprinted down towards the basement of Titans Tower. Curious, everyone followed after him. When they reached the large room, full of various tools and spare parts that Cyborg worked with, Cyborg was waiting. He stood before a large structure covered in a cloth.

"Cyborg?" Starfire gestured to the cloth. "What is under that?"

"Something I've been wanting to show you guys all day!" Cyborg placed his hand upon the cloth, preparing to pull it off. "I just finished it this afternoon." His eyes darted to Beast Boy. "Drumroll, please!"

On cue, Beast Boy turned into an armadillo. Sora quickly grabbed two wrenches from somewhere inside the workshop and started tapping the shell, quickly and lightly. The metal tools against the hollow structure created an effective suspense-building noise.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Cyborg began. "And whatever Beast Boy is:"

Beast Boy reverted to human form, scowling. "Dude, do you want your drumroll or not?" Grudgingly, Beast Boy shifted back to an armadillo and Sora resumed tapping the shell with the wrenches.

Cyborg, despite the interruption, continued with as much energy as ever. "It's my pleasure to present for the first time anywhere, the thing you've all been waiting for, the coolest, hottest, most amazing thing I've ever created-!"

"Can you just get on with it?" Raven groaned.

Cyborg's hand trembled in excitement as he gripped the cloth. "I give you the future of Titan's transportation! The one, the only-" After suspense, he finally tore off the cloth, revealing his hi-tech miracle. "T-Car!"

The magnificent vehicle glistened under the light of the workshop. The car measured about ten feet and was interlaced with a lot of circuitry that was very reminiscent of the technology that kept Cyborg himself running.

Cyborg patted the car proudly. "The T-Car has so many custom features that are only made possible by yours truly." He opened every possible area of the car to display. "One-hundred thousand horsepower plasma turbine engine, all-terrain hoverjets, leather seats and booming stereo -all standard- and an onboard computer that links to my systems, so I can literally _feel_ the road."

"Whoa!" Robin shouted, fascinated.

"Cool!" marveled Beast Boy.

"That's amazing, Cyborg," Sora commended. "You built this yourself?"

"Yep!" beamed Cyborg. "She's my baby."

Steven's eyes were widened in excitement. "Can I touch it?"

Cyborg shrugged. "Sure."

Steven stepped forward and held out his hand. Trembling, it slowly moved towards the shiny, tech-plated surface of the car. "It's so beautiful," he breathed. It was too much. Steven collasped backward before he had even laid a finger upon the car.

Cyborg looked down upon him. "Guess he couldn't handle it," he muttered to himself. He held out a hand to his fallen friend. "You okay?"

Steven clasped the hand and Cyborg helped him stand up. Steven just kept looking at the car with wide eyes, dazed and amazed. "That car is awesome, dude."

"You bet it is, man," Cyborg agreed. "It'll take you anywhere you wanna go." He turned to the others and smiled. "So where do y'all wanna go?"

"The beach!" shouted Sora.

"The movies!" declared Robin.

"The arcade!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"The swamp moons of Drenthax Four!" Starfire cheered. She looked over to see her companions fainting out of shock. Starfire blushed in embarassment. "He said anywhere."

Robin recovered first. "It's getting late. We should probably get some sleep. We can try out the car tomorrow."

Robin walked out of the room as Cyborg's excited face was molded into an expression of longing. "Aw, man!"

"It's okay, Cyborg." Steven patted his robotic friend on the shoulder. "It'll give you something to look forward to in the morning."

Cyborg nodded. "Thanks, man."

"And who knows?" Beast Boy interjected. "I know how to drive. Maybe you could teach me how to work this baby."

"No way!" Cyborg defended. "Nobody's driving the T-Car but me!"

Beast Boy flinched, then chuckled nervously as he walked out of the room. Steven ran out to catch up with him. When they were out of earshot, Beast Boy spoke. "Geez, what's his problem?"

"It's a new car," Steven said. "People are always protective of their new stuff. And two....well, we're talking about _you_, Beast Boy."

Beast Boy glared at Steven. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I think you know," Steven teased.

"No I don't!" insisted Beast Boy. "Tell me!"

Steven chuckled and began walking ahead. Beast Boy looked on as his roommate ignored the question. "Dude?"

* * *

Night set upon Titans Tower. No clouds covered the starlit sky, leaving a full view of the glows in the sky that represented so many worlds in in the universe. The streets were quiet and the lights were dim. It was a peaceful night for the people in the city and it was a peaceful night for the Teen Titans.

Except for a certain two. Robin and Steven both had dreams that night.

* * *

Steven walked the dirt roads of the small town he lived in. Everywhere he went, dirty looks were sent his way. Phrases that had become a part of his daily life included, but weren't limited to, "You'll be the death of us, boy," "Stay away from me, you monster!", and "Demon-child!"

Steven had been hurt by these comments in the early years of his life, but had begun not to care. Sure, he was still sick of it, but he just learned to ignore all the unwanted attention. He had once wanted justification for why these insults were being thrown at him left and right, but there was no more time. Today was the day.

For many weeks, he'd been finding strange blocks made out of stranger material, completely a mystery to him. From an elder man in the village, he found that they were called Gummi blocks. They were used to build flying vehicles. The instant he heard that was all he needed. He had assembled a ship in a discreet area and was very close to completing it. He only needed one more block and he would have a working ship.

So he did what he always did. He strolled on the outskirts of town, just thinking to himself. Before long, his effort had no part to play. The block was just sitting there, as if waiting to be picked up. So Steven obliged.

He took it back to the discreet area, a deep part in the woods, and placed the block in its appropriate place upon his small, one-man structure. Completed, it looked just like a small, bulgy seat with guns at the front and propulsion systems on the back.

_Kinda looks like a speeder bike from **Star Wars**_, thought Steven. He stepped inside and pressed a few buttons. _Well, I'm out of here._

Steven pressed a button and barely managed to grab onto the vehicle before it shot into reverse. It slammed into a tree and Steven was thrown off, slamming into aformentioned tree. Soon, the force of gravity took hold and he started to slide down. Before he could fall all the way, he hooked his legs around a thick branch, keeping him secure.

"Whoa," he marveled. He breathed hard for a few moments before carefully climbing. "Can't believe I didn't hit my head....." he mumbled. He looked down to see if his ship was damaged. He sighed in relief when he saw it wasn't. "Well, that went alright."

He felt the tree shudder and he heard a cracking noise. "Oh crap." The tree toppled over directly on top of him. It wasn't a thick tree and didn't do much damage. But.......one branch _did _hit him in the head.

Steven moved the giant plant away from him and shook his head clear. "This could take some practice."

* * *

A few hours and four more fallen trees later, Steven finally had the hang of flying the ship. And so, he took it for its first real drive. Seeing how he was leaving forever, he figured he should say some kind of good-bye. So he took the ship over the town and landed it on the very edge.

He made sure to descend slowly, as to attract the attention of everyone. It did not fail and nearly every person he knew, had stopped by to look at this obstruction. He stepped off and he eyed the crowed. No looks of disgust were aimed at him. Only looks of shock were painted onto the faces of the crowd.

_Perfect _thought Steven. He cleared his throat. "People of.....whatever this village is called, I am hereby announcing my permanent departure of this place. I have grown tired and irritated of living here with you people and I don't want to deal with it anymore."

"The feeling's mutual, you disgusting creature!" cried an cranky, old woman in the crowd. Soon, many other members of the crowd encouraged her. They began jeering at Steven, who just rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I hate you all too," he muttered to himself. "See, this is why I'm leaving!" The crowd's insults died down. "I am getting damn sick of you guys insulting me like this. I have done absolutely nothing to you! My manners are fair, I haven't destroyed any of your property, I've shown no intent of causing you any harm, but yet you treat me like I'm an apocalypse waiting to happen!" He took a step closer to the crowd. He stomped while he walked, causing many of them to jump in fright.

"If anybody wants to step forward and tell me why I'm being called 'demon-child' or 'that monster' or as Bridget just added to the ever-growing list of remarks, 'disgusting creature', just tell me why it's happening and I'll be on my way. Tell me why you hate me and I'll be happy."

The crowd remained silent. Steven blinked several times before realizing that they were keeping their mouths shut. He cursed under his breath. "Fine! Then I'm leaving!" he shouted angrily. He slid his body onto the seat and gripped the controls. He pushed a button and an encasing of glass formed a dome over him. Pressing another button, the engines of his ship ignited and it took to the sky.

As he ascended to the clear blue sky, he breathed heavily. After years of longing, he'd finally done it. He had escaped that place. No more would he have to put up with them insulting him for reasons he didn't know. No more would he be left in confusion as to why he was hated. He could go far away, somewhere where he was unknown to everybody, and start over.

But most of all, he had become independent. In his mind, he had become a man. But he had also fulfilled a dream he had as a child, a dream that many children had; he was flying in his very own ship that he had built himself. "I'm not just a man," Steven muttered to himself. "I'm....a rocket man."

And for the first time in a while.....Steven laughed. And he laughed hard. It had been ages since he felt this happy. He showed his excitement with his eratic driving. He did twists, spirals, flips, and just plain drove fast. "I'm free, baby!"

Suddenly, Steven's vision left that of the ship. It was altered to a part where he wasn't consciously even in the area. He was just an invisible spectator, unable to do anything but watch something horrible. He expected that if a moment like this had ever happened, he would've been happy. But as he watched, he could find no joy in the pointless destruction he saw.

The town he'd hated so much was now up in flames. But these weren't like the flames Steven was used to. They were not the flaring yellow and orange fire that lit torches of angry mobs that had previously attempted to run Steven out of town on multiple occasions.

The fire that burned the town was _green_.

In the center of all the commotion was a solitary being. From behind, it was impossible to tell who it was. What could be seen was a beeing holding up a long, wooden staff that carried an emerald gem at its end. The being's head was abnormally shaped. Horns formed a curved V to round out the head.

The being turned one-hundred eighty degrees to face where Steven would have been if he was physically present. This mysterious person, creature, or whatever it was, couldn't see him. He could see it, though. He could see the maniacal joy in the eyes of the being as a crow went to land on its shoulder.

Then he heard a few chuckles escape, revealing this being to be female. The chuckles grew louder as the woman smiled wider and wider. Then she threw back her head and laughed. She laughed like an excited serpent with a face to match, pale green and bright purple lips from which the inhuman cackling escaped.

* * *

Steven abruptly sat up in his bed, very frightened at what he had just seen. Unfortunately for him, he was on the top bunk of the bed in Beast Boy's room. "Ow!" And when he sat up, his head had slammed into the ceiling. He promptly fell back into the matress, holding his head in pain. After a few moments, his dream became hazy in his mind and he could only remember certain bits of it. "I'm a rocket man," he laughed quietly, before going out cold.

He had been sane enough, though, to realize that what he had just dreamed was not a dream, but a vision of what had already happened. The village where he once resided really was destroyed and the pale, evil woman was behind it. But as his body fell into unconsciousness, he could no longer make his mind process a question he wanted answered.

_Who was that woman_? he thought half-consciously.

Meanwhile, Robin was stuck not in a vision, but a nightmare.

* * *

Robin saw himself in a valley of stone. He didn't know where this was or how he got there. All that mattered is what lay ahead of him.....and who stood _before _him.

Slade.

Robin rushed towards his foe, throwing punch after punch, but unable to score any hit. He struck quickly, cracking stone pillars that surrounded the ground they fought upon. He tossed his patented birdarangs at Slade, who simply used both hands to knock them aside. They dug into the pillars that Robin hadn't scratched yet. The impact shattered their foundation and the stone gstructures collasped around them, lifting a cloud of dust.

Robin scanned the wreckage with his eyes, trying to find Slade. Until Slade spoke to him.

"Excellent work, Robin," his enemy congratulated. "It seems we're evenly matched and equally ruthless. To be honest it doesn't surprise me." Robin gritted his teeth as he detected Slade coming closer, almost breathing down his neck. "Whether you don't realize it or you simply don't want to admit it, believe this, Robin." It was that moment that Robin felt Slade right behind him. "You and I are very much alike."

Robin's eyes flared in anger. "I'm nothing like you!" He spun around and his fist shot towards Slade. It finally connected with its target, knocking him to the stone surface that they stood on. Robin clutched Slade's tunic, coming face to face with his personal demon. "You're a criminal and a psychopath. All you care about is destruction!"

"Yes," Slade agreed. "And all that you care about, you destroy."

He gestured to the ruins around him. Robin's eyes moved throughout the wreckage. He gasped when he saw that these were no ordinary rocks. Carved perfectly into six of the rocks were the likenesses of his teammates, as if their very essence was inside the stone.

Even Sora and Steven, whose broken stone arms reached for smashed rock fragments that formed their destroyed Keyblades.

"No...." Robin seethed. He turned angrily to Slade. "Who are you?!?" Not waiting any longer, Robin reached for the mask, tore it off, and tossed it behind him.

His mouth dropped open, for he saw the unmasked Slade. He realized the horror of Slade's statement that they were alike. There might as well have been a mirror underneath the mask because that's what Robin saw.

He saw his own face under Slade's mask, cackling madly to the sky.

* * *

Robin lurched forward, his face sweating. He breathed heavily, relieved that what he had witnessed was only a dream. The door to his room opened and he saw Cyborg.

"It's him," said Cyborg, gravely. "It's Slade."

Robin was up and quickly rushed into the living room. Slowly, the others found their way to the area as well. When he reached the computer panel, the screen that interfaced with the window was activated. Robin's frown deepened when he saw Slade's masked face staring down at them.

"_Morning, Teen Titans,_" he said. "_I hope I didn't wake you._"

Beast Boy yawned in response. "What are you, an insomniac? Who calls at 5:00 in the morn-?" Raven elbowed Beast Boy to keep him quiet.

"What do you want?" Robin demanded.

"_Well now, that's exactly what you've been trying to figure out_," reminded Slade. "_But despite your best efforts, you're still in the dark about my intentions. Disappointing, Robin. I expected better from you_."

Robin pounded his fist on the table. "Like I care what you-!"

"_But since you still don't know what I'm planning_," Slade interrupted. "_I guess I'll just have to show you_." On the screen, his minions uncovered a cylyindrical device as tall as them. The device spread apart and opened up, revealing itself to be lined with glowing red strips of energy. "_I am sure you're familiar with the concept of a cronoton detonator, correct_?"

Robin gasped. "No!"

"Dude!" cried Cyborg.

"Uh-oh," murmured Raven.

"No way!" shouted Beast Boy. After a moment, he scratched his head in confusion. "What's a cruton detonator?"

"Not cruton, BB," Steven explained. "I think he said 'Clinton'." Steven was struck with realization. "He's going to kill the president!"

"What he said was 'cronoton'," Starfire said, clearing their confusion. "This detonator destroys all cronotons within a localized area, permanently eradicating a necessary component of the space-time continuum."

"Um....can I get that in English, please?" Sora asked.

"It stops time," Raven said. "Permanently."

"What?" Sora stumbled in his haste. "We have to find that thing!"

"Where are you hiding it?" demanded Robin.

"_You're a clever boy, Robin_," Slade snidely replied. "_I'm sure you can figure it out_."

Then he held up his arm. Nothing was in his hand, but what appeared behind him was very uncomforting. Small black monsters that were once human beings slithered out of the ground, yellow eyes glowing. They stared into the screen, as if knowing that the Keybearers were on the receiving end.

"Heartless!" Steven shouted.

"What're you doing with those Heartless, Slade?!" Sora shouted at the screen.

"_Well, I thought you of all people would know that, Sora_." Slade began pacing. "_See, I know all about the hearts of worlds, aside from one important fact_." He looked to the Titans. "_The location of the heart of this world_. _That's why I'll be sending these Heartless out to search for it. Once it is found, this entire world is my hostage. If anyone dares to stand against me, I leave this world to the Heartless_." He cackled maniacally. "_And I think you know what happens to a world under the mercy of an unsealed Keyhole_."

Sora's eyes widened. "No," he murmered. "I won't let that happen!"

"_Won't you, now? Well, then I encourage you to try and stop me_." Slade held up a small controller that resembled a walkie-talkie. "_But seeing how I control the detonator and the Heartless, time is not on your side_." His face disappeared from the screen.

Robin's fist shot down at the computer, bashing the keyboard. "Fan out. Find it. Shut it down," he seethed angrily. He began marching for the door, but found his path blocked by Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"Uh," Beast Boy said nervously. "Maybe you should stay here and coordinate the mission?"

Robin squinted angrily at him. "What?"

"Look man, when it comes to Slade, you got issues," Cyborg quickly pointed out. "Maybe it'd be better for the team if you sat this one out."

"No. I can't!" Robin argued. "There's too much at stake here! This entire world could go down if we don't stop him!"

"Robin," Starfire pleaded. "We have not forgotten the last time you faced Slade."

"I made a mistake, Starfire," Robin insisted.

"_We _made a mistake," reminded Steven, glancing guiltfully at the floor. "You and I were both involved with that Red X business, Robin."

"All that's over," Robin replied. "It won't happen again. I'll be okay. I promise."

"Then would you at least like to know where to look?" Raven offered, already typing at the computer. "Slade gave us very helpful information without realizing it." She pressed a key and zoomed in on the upper half of the detonator. Two forms were made visible, almost looking like a cryptic message.

"Squiggly lines," Beast Boy scoffed. "Yeah, that's real helpful."

Raven hit a few more keys, mirroring the images and clearing the unfocused nature of the reflection.

"Pier 41," Starfire read.

"The docks!" exclaimed Robin.

"Huh...." Beast Boy looked at the image in quiet amazement.

* * *

A warehouse just beside the docks. The location of the detonator was just behind closed, metal blinds.

No problem. Cyborg charged his sonic cannon and bashed twelve-foot door structure right off its supports. The Titans stepped through the smoke and spotted the detonator.....where?

They looked all over the warehouse. It was completely abandonded. No detonator, no Slade, nobody.

"Aw, man!" Cyborg held his head in annoyance. "I don't believe this!"

"Well, it's the not the worst that could happen," Sora reasoned Suddenly, several of Slade's robot minions jumped out of their hiding places, taking a perch on several of the metal banisters that supported the building. The Titans looked behind them and saw another wave standing guard at the door. Sora gulped. "It could still be worse."

As if fate was taunting him, black portals appeared in the ground and Heartless swarms stepped out of it. Steven and Sora summoned their Keyblades. "Okay. _This _is the worst that could happen."

"What do we do now?" Beast Boy asked.

Robin pulled out his metal rod. "We fight. Titans, go!" He made the first move, rushing to a group of robots. He threw his rod at the first one, then punched out three more. One leaped to the top ledge, but Robin's rod came back around, knocking it off.

Cyborg yelled as he charged at two robots, only to see Robin rush in from nowhere and kick them to pieces. "Hey! I was gonna do that!" Cyborg complained.

Starfire found herself surrounded by three robots. Her eyes glowed green and she almost fired, only for Robin to continue his frenzy by beating down all three by using each as a springboard to get to the next.

Beast Boy turned into a ram and prepared to charge at a swarm of Heartless. This time, Steven came along to steal the glory. He swung his Keyblade horizontally, defeating two Heartless. Then he swung upward, cutting another out of existence. The last Heartless was still wide-eyed in shock as Steven jumped over Beast Boy, making it nothing more than a vanishing whisp of black smoke. Steven flashed Beast Boy a thumbs-up. "Nice assist!"

Raven stood before a group of Heartless. "They say 'fight fire with fire'. Now we can test that with the power of darkness." She held up her hands and her eyes glowed white. "Azerath Metrion-" she began, but halted when Steven leaped in front of her. He jumped into the air and pointed his Keyblade at the Heartless. "Thunder!" He shouted this repeatedly, electrifying the very spot where the Heartless stood. "Thunder! Thunder!" Any that evaded the bolts were soon shocked by the continuing sparks. Still in midair, he gave Raven a thumbs-up as well. "Good distraction!" Raven shrugged in confusion.

Sora, meanwhile, stood before a huge group of both Heartless and machine. He decided that this would be an appropriate time to try Robin's boomerang trick, so he tossed his Keyblade. It spun in a circle, moving first through the left flank of fighters. It sliced through both manner of enemies as it made its way through the center and right flanks. "It worked!" Sora cheered as his weapon made its way back into his hand.

Then he pointed it at the ground beneath them. "Freeze!" Ice spat out of his Keyblade and frosted the ground, covering it in ice. Instantly, the group began slipping. Taking this opportunity, Sora used the ice to slide forward and sliced through the rest of his enemies, one by one. "Alright!" He cheered, spinning around on the ice.

To face another swarm. "Crap!" Sora didn't have much time before the swarm began to charge. Sora prepared his Keyblade, but soon joined everyone else as someone whose moment had been stolen.

Both Robin and Steven jumped down in front of Sora and began striking down the enemies. As Sora watched the relentless beating that followed, he and the others slowly shrank back to the wall, watching their friend and their leader taking down the small armies that opposed them.

Their two approaching attitudes were total opposites. Robin beat down the enemies with a ferocity that said "You're not getting away", angrily determined to stop Slade.

Steven, however, was completely chill. His attitude, fighting, and expression gave off an aura of "Sure, you can run....if you can get away".

Pretty soon, all Heartless were gone from the room and the soldiers lay in deformed heaps that the two fighters continued to beat up, unsatisfied that they were already scrapped.

"Uh, guys?" called Cyborg. "I think you got them." Robin and Steven did not even register that he had spoken, continuing to pound their weapons into the crumpled metal.

"Yes, please desist!" Starfire said calmly. She walked over and grabbed Robin's arm, halting his ruthless assault on the fallen robot.

Steven, in the middle of beating another robot, suddenly felt a weight leave his hand. He looked up to see his Keyblade floating in the air, surrounded by black energy. Before he could register what was happening, the weapon swung downward, bonking his head quite hard. He fell to the ground and his focus wavered.

He blinked a few times and shook his head. That was enough to clear his vision. He looked to the group to see Raven's hand glowing with black energy, shooting an annoyed glare in his direction. "Sorry," he chuckled. "I was on a roll." He held up his arm and Raven released her telepathic hold on the Keyblade, allowing Steven to grasp it.

Robin, breathing hard, yanked his hand out of Starfire's grip. "We don't have time for this!"

The others winced. Their leader stomped angrily towards the door. Steven jumped forward to land in front of him. "What is your deal?" he yelled. "We won here, didn't we?"

Robin roughly grabbed Steven by the shirt and brought his face closer. Steven's eyes were now merely an inch from Robin's mask. "Slade's controlling the detonation and the fate of this entire world and we've got nothing!" Robin shot back. "Does that sound like a victory to you?"

Steven smacked Robin's arm away and showed the same grip upon Robin's uniform. "What is wrong with you?" he shouted. "Everyone here is trying to catch Slade, Robin! So stop acting like him!"

A moment of silence ensued. Robin was trembling angrily and Steven's muscles were tightened as they stared each other down. "No," began Robin. "_NEVER_!"

He marked this word by throwing his arm forward to connect with Steven's face. The force of the blow caused Steven to release his grip. He flew through the air, not very high, but very fast. His body struck the ground and he skidded to the other side of the warehouse. The other Titans looked on in shock. An angry Steven lay on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Never compare me to him," Robin seethed. He stormed over angrily. "He's trying to destroy the city. I'm trying to save it!" He stood over Steven. "I'm _nothing _like that psycho!"

His cries of anger echoed off of the walls. Steven stood up to meet his gaze. They hardly even noticed that their teammates were standing only a few feet away. There might as well have been a wall there, for Steven and Robin could no longer comprehend anything but their anger for each other.

"ACHOO!" Starfire's voice squealed as she sneezed. But the sneeze was accompanied by a _BOOM _that had erupted from a starbolt that had been let loose by her sneeze. The other Titans were fried from the blast.

"Well," said Beast Boy. "That's one way to kill a tense moment."

"Forgive me," apologized Starfire. "I am allergic to metallica chromium. There must be a source near-" She was cut off as she began to tremble again. "ACHOO!" The others ducked their heads as she sneezed yet again. "Forgive me," she repeated.

"Interesting," said Cyborg, looking at a scanner on his wrist.

"Not really," corrected Starfire. "Where I come from, chromium allergies are quite common."

"Not that," Cyborg replied. "A cronoton detonator can only be powered by a metallica chromium core which means-"

"Starfire can track it!" Sora finished. "So once we disable it, we can go after Slade! Defeat their commander and the Heartless will become disorganized and easier to defeat."

"Good idea," Beast Boy piped up. "So here's the plan: the five of us disable the detonator and the Buddy Rich brothers can go after Slade."

The "Buddy Rich brothers", Steven and Robin, glared at Beast Boy, who shrank back a bit, chuckling nervously. "Hey....just trying to lighten the mood a bit."

* * *

They walked through the sewer. Surprisingly, it was not as bad as most would suspect. The water was murky, sure, but nobody noticed it. They were too focused on staying away from Starfire, whose sneezes consistently erupted more violent disturbances every time.

Steven and Robin trailed behind the group. The overall walk had been pretty tense between them, but they both reflected on the things they had said and done in the past few hours.

Steven broke the silence. "I'm sorry." He gasped when he heard the same expression come from another source. He and Robin glanced at each other, as both had uttered the same thing simultaneously. Steven nodded as he made his way forward, walking alongside the team's leader. "I didn't mean what I said. You're nothing like Slade. You're a good person."

Robin nodded slightly. "I was wrong. What you say, what the others say, is a bit true. I will get carried away with a criminal sometimes." He looked up from his guilty thoughts. "Sorry for punching you in the face."

"It's nothing man," Steven assured. "When I was fourteen, a tree fell on me."

They both chuckled, glad that they had made amends. The rest of the team, walking a decent distance ahead, was not ignorant of this.

"Well, what do you know?" Cyborg smiled. "They patched things up."

"Really fast, too," added Beast Boy. "That was only like ten minutes."

"Wonderful!" Starfire cheered. "Now we can-" She was cut off as her allergies kicked in. "ACHOO!" She rubbed his nose and pointed down the tunnel. "I believe it is this way."

Sure enough, turning the next curve unveiled a boat. One of Slade's henchman was seen performing maintenance on a device completely identical to the one Slade had displayed to them, currently dormant.

"Get him!" Robin rushed forward. "We can't let them get- AH!" Robin cried as two giant stones hands broke through the wall and pulled him in. The Titans held back as they watched Robin taking on Cinderblock, a six meter man of stone. "Get the detonator!" he called. "Go!" He turned to jump upon and smash his foot across Cinderblock's face, pushing the stone giant backward a few steps. "Only fair to warn you," he growled. "You caught me on a bad day."

* * *

Steven broke away, getting ahead of the group, but was quickly halted. He looked up to see his arm caught in a black tendril. Soon another grasped his leg. And then one more grasped his torso. Then a portal appeared behind Steven and the appendages began to pull him in.

"Steven!" Sora yelled. He turned to the others. "Go! I'll catch up!" The Titans nodded and rushed forward. Starfire took a final look back, as Steven was threatened to be swallowed by that black mass on the wall.

"Star! You heard them!" called Cyborg. Regretfully, Starfire followed the other Titans. Sora sliced away a tendril and he grabbed one of Steven's arms. He beat back the black slivers that held his friend, groaning as he struggled to maintain his grip. Soon, a few more tendrils extended and struck Sora, who involuntarily released his grip.

Steven watched as the dark substance drifted over his face. But no sooner had his vision become completely obscured, he could see again. Tipping his head backwards, he saw a huge swarm of Shadow Heartless. "That's it? Geez, bad guys today are so lazy." Then he felt himself being tugged back through the portal.

Sora pulled as hard as he could on Steven's lingered foot, using more strength than he thought he had to bring Steven back to the other side of the portal. When Steven's became visible, even more black tendrils spawned and gripped their prisoner yet again. Sora felt them tug Steven, practically yanking his arms out of their sockets from the force. Steven looked up to see his friend struggling and quickly shouted to him. "Sora, let go!"

"What?" Sora yelled, barely keeping his grip. "No way!"

"It's not endless darkness back there, dude!" Steven confirmed. "It's just a bunch of Heartless! And they're just Shadows! I can handle this!"

"You sure?" Sora replied uncertainly.

"Yes!" Steven nodded. "Now go! Help the others!"

Despite his better judgement, Sora decided to comply. He relinquished his grip and Steven practically shot through the portal, which instantly vanished once he was through. Hoping he had made a good choice, Sora ran down the hallway to catch up with his teammates.

* * *

Steven came out the other side of the wall and slid across the room. He got up and called his shiny, black Keyblade to his hand. "Alright, suckers!" He turned to face the Heartless swarm that stood in the way. "Bring it-" Only to find the swarm was gone. "-on?" He scratched his head in confusion. "Where'd they go?"

The ground shook behind him as something landed. Something _big_. Then something else added to the tremors and began to distort Steven's sense of reason. Before he could become further disoriented, Steven jumped high into the air, his jump powered by the ground's trembling. As it slowly calmed, he landed cleanly and looked behind to find the tremor. "Well, this is just freaking _great_!" he cursed.

What stood before him now were two Shadow Heartless, only now they towered above him by at least ten feet. Not even pausing to make a witty remark, Steven jumped forward and brandished his Keyblade. With hardly any effort, the Giga-Shadow swung its large arm at him.

Steven saw the arm coming. He blinked. When his eyes opened, he was shooting through the air and his two foes were becoming shorter to his sight by the second. "Fire!" Steven shouted. A ball of fire blasted fire at the wall that he was approaching, blasting it open to avoid impact.

He looked up to see his towering foes stepping slowly towards him. He toss his Keyblade at them. It struck the head of one, halting it momentarily. As soon as the Keyblade returned to him, he chucked it again and again. It continued to slowly weaken the Heartless, but it was taking too long. _I don't have time for this_, Steven thought to himself. So he decided his magic would be very effective here.

He first charged his Keyblade with an icy blast. "Freeze!" he yelled. Fueled by his unusually intense fighting spirit today, a giant block of ice formed above the two Giga-Shadow Heartless and crashed down on top of them. They struggled for a moment and the ice cube began to shift, not able to hold them for long.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Steven taunted. "Did that hurt? Let me get rid of it for you." He raised his weapon once more. "Fire!" A column of flame erupted from the obsidian Keyblade and flared through both the ice and the Heartless. Now the ice was gone and the Heartless were left soaking wet. "Now think, man," Steven said. "What reaction is strengthened by water?"

He smiled. "Oh yes. Electricity." He strolled over casually to face the Heartless, his entire body that same height as their heads. "Bye-bye!" he laughed, waving at them. He reversed his grip on his Keyblade and plunged it into the ground. He gripped the handle tightly and yelled. "Thunder!"

The effective was immediate. As soon as the energy had electrified one puddle, it released a charge that struck the Heartless. With their entire bodies drenched, they almost became a giant form twitching and glowing with the electric charge. Steven pulled his Keyblade out of the ground and stared as the Giga-Heartless collapsed to the ground.

He heard a small clattering noise nearby and stepped forward. He lifted up one of the arms of his fallen and saw a phone-sized electronic tracker. A few yellow arrows were pointing a location out and the location displayed a familiar logo.

A cryptic-shaped S.

Steven smiled. "This day just keeps getting better and better." He walked away, not looking back as the Heartless slowly faded out of existence, releasing two giant hearts as they passed on.

* * *

Robin was unstoppable. Cinderblock was the one unlucky enough to have been facing him today and the rock-man recoiled in pain as Robin brought his foot into his rocky chest. He roared in pain as Robin's fists pounded across his face again and again. Then Robin ended the humiliation by gripping his head and flipping Cinderblock over with his fury-enhanced strength.

"Now where is he?" Robin shouted. "Where's- huh?" He could see that he had been a little rough. Cinderblock was out cold. Robin slammed his fist on his beaten enemie's chest. "Great. Now I don't even have a way to find him."

Then he heard a small beeping noise. His eyes darted to Cinderblocks hand. A small device rested in his spread out palm. Robin picked it up and saw it to be a navigation assistant, a mini-GPS. Three arrows marked a trail on the map and at the end of the trail marked the symbol of his enemy, a unique looking logo of the letter S.

Robin smiled and began following the trail that would finally lead him to the psycho known as Slade. His smile remained as he picked up his buzzing communicator. "Yeah?"

"_Robin_!" Steven's voice sounded through the communicator, his face showing on the screen. "_I beat two giant Heartless and found some kind of tracking device. It can-_"

"-lead us directly to Slade?" Robin finished. "Yeah, I found one too."

"_Oh......well, I guess I'll see you there, man_." Steven gave Robin a thumbs-up before his face vanished from the screen. Robin nodded to himself and began to follow the directions that the device was giving him.

* * *

Sora rushed back to the group as fast as he could. No sooner had he gotten there that the minion in the boat finally started the vehicle and sped down the sewer's tunnel. Starfire gripped Cyborg's shoulders and began flying after the boat. Beast Boy transformed into a hawk and followed suit. Sora began running swiftly after them, but they were slowly becoming distant.

Raven practically sped past Sora and floated a few feet from him. She held out one hand and a small platform of black energy formed near Sora, speeding alongside him. "Get on!" Sora gratefully leaped onto the floating power that Raven controlled. With Sora in tow, Raven continued to glide swiftly down the tunnel.

The minion spotted the Titans gaining ground upon it and pressed a button on the boat's panel. "DEFENSE MODE ACTIVATED," the boat monotonously sounded. Two curved structures popped out from the deck and began firing disk-shaped bolts of yellow energy at the Titans. Starfire swerved to avoid them and to keep Cyborg from getting hit. Cyborg's arm altered itself to form his trademark sonic cannon. "I will not be having attitude from a boat!" he yelled.

He fired at the two guns that were rapidly firing at him and took them out with two swift shots. The Titans manuevered closer to the boat now that its purpose for defense was disabled. Starfire released Cyborg and the velocity of her flight allowed him to drop forward, right onto the deck.

Sora turned to Raven. "Toss away some weight to make yourself go faster."

Raven eyed Sora skeptically before figuring out what he was trying to do. Nodding in acknowledgement, the platform beneath Sora disappeared and he was envoloped in Raven's energy. Raven flung her arm forward, propelling Sora to land alongside Cyborg on the deck.

The minion's eyes practically bugged out of its mechanic head. It frantically entered a code on the keypad. Letters appeared on the boats dashboard. "AUTOPILOT ENGAGED." The robot was able to type this before being brutally scrapped and dumped overboard by Sora's Keyblade.

Cyborg gripped the wheel, trying to stop the autopilot. However, his strength was too much for it to take and when it tried to turn against his grip, it snapped off. With no steering mechanism left, the boat began to swerve widly, narrowly avoiding crashing into the cement walls that surrounded them.

Sora clutched the edge of the boat, the momentum practically throwing him off. "Stop!" he yelled. Though he did not intend it to happen, his Keyblade glowed with energy and the boat suddenly came to a halt. Cyborg wobbled a little bit before regaining his balance. Sora climbed back onto the surface. "That won't last long," he informed. "Dismantle something that'll stop the boat for good."

Cyborg immediately jumped to the front of the boat and popped up the hood. He formed his sonic cannon and fired into the engine. "Boo-yah!" he shouted, only to find out that the engine remained completely unscratched. "Uh, what's going on?"

"That's part of the spell!" Sora shouted. "Get away!" Both of them jumped into the water and swam back a bit. The others began to catch up. "Stay back!" Sora warned. "It'll be any moment now."

Then it happened. A small twitch signaled the end of the Stop spell. The boat began whirring up again and moved a few feet, only for the engine to blow up instantly, melting everything under the hood of the boat. The Titans returned to the surface of the boat and admired the work of Sora and Cyborg. "Tell me you're not going to disable the detonator like that," Raven said.

"Don't be such a downer, Raven," Beast Boy said, waving her off. "Cyborg knows his stuff. Right Cyborg?" He smiled at Cyborg.

Cyborg turned around and noticed everybody staring at him. "Uh......what?" he asked.

Sora looked questionably at Cyborg. "You do know how to disable the detonator, right?"

Cyborg shrugged. "How hard could it be?"

He walked over to the giant mechanism. He barely even touched the thing when it suddenly opened up, becoming ten feet tall and revealing the strips of red energy that lined the dangerous weapon. "Huh," he mumbled. "It glows."

"Whatever we're gonna do," Raven warned. "We better do it soon before Slade decides to trigger this thing."

Before long, Cyborg had managed to locate the chromium core of the cronoton detonator. Raven carefully removed the screws that held it in place and Cyborg removed the that shielded it even more carefully. The core floated inside, a ball of red energy with lines of blue electricty moving over its surface. "This core is very unstable," Cyborg warned as he carefully set aside the panel. "No sudden moves."

Fate taunted Cyborg as Starfire began to moan involuntarily. It grew more and they realized she was about to sneeze. Raven surrounded Starfire's head with an orb of dark energy. "ACHOO!" It was raised just in time to contain the sneeze and avoid anything happening. Starfire's hair was uneven and messy, but she was okay. "Please continue," she whispered.

The others sighed in relief. Cyborg held up his finger, making use of a small blowtorch that his finger could transform into. He moved it forward and began to cut through one of the cords. "Alright, I just have to decupple the-" He stopped as his torch sliced through one wire. The core's reaction was to begin making a beeping noise.

"That doesn't sound good," Beast Boy said nervously.

* * *

Slade watched on the screen as the five Titans stood on the deck of the boat that held his detonator. His finger lingered on the button of the trigger that was needed to set it off. "Hurry, Titans. Your time is running out."

Slade didn't even react when he heard a wall behind him get a huge hole blown into it. The figure stepped through. "Not just yet, it isn't." Robin stepped through the ruins of the explosion he'd just made. He leaped down to ground level while Slade continued to watch the opposite wall in the room.

And as he'd expected, another hole was created by another explosion and the figure he expected to step through it did not disappoint. "In fact," Steven muttered, twirling his Keyblade. "You could say that we just went into overtime."

"Robin, Steven," Slade voiced. "Welcome. I have been expecting you for quite some time. It took a bit longer than I thought. Tell me, were Cinderblock and the Heartless too big of a challenge for you?"

Steven laughed quietly. "Heartless are my forte."

"And as for Cinderblock," Robin continued. "Let's just say he wishes he called in sick today." Robin held his hand out, waiting. "Enough games, Slade. Where is it?"

"You mean this?" Slade waved the trigger he held in his hand, taunting them. "Well, it's right here." He placed it down in the center of a solitary light that provided illumination to the room. "If you want it, come and take it."

Both boys stood where they were, eying Slade curiously. After all this, Slade was really going to give it up that easily? They both moved forward, getting a little closer to the trigger. When they were about halfway to it, Slade made a move closer to it, standing in the light as well. Robin and Steven halted. Steven chuckled. "Hey Robin," he called. "Do you want to get the trigger?"

Robin looked forward. He and Slade were looking directly at each other, neither one wavering. "Nah," Robin answered. "I've got other plans."

Steven nodded. "I thought so." With a yell, both boys sprinted forward. Steven leaped over Slade to nab the trigger. Robin, however, shot himself forward, aiming his foot at Slade himself.

Slade seemed to be on top of everything. He leapt into Steven's path and and punched him in the gut, bringing him to his knees. Not wasting any time, he turned around and gripped Robin's foot and began spinning him in a circle. Using the momentum, Slade sent Robin flying like a bullet to collide with Steven. Both Titans, sprawled over each other, quickly rose. They ran for the trigger again, anticipating Slade as they moved.

They attacked simultaneously. Steven swung his Keyblade downward and Robin aimed a punch at Slade's stomach. Their target easily sidestepped both attacks. Steven took charge, swiping several times at Slade and not scoring a single hit. Becoming frustrated, Steven struck downward fiercly. Slade stepped back, allowing it to smash into the ground. Then he gripped the blade and used it as leverage to fling Steven upward, to a higher ground where he would temporarily avoid being a nuisance.

Robin rushed forward to try his hand at attacking. He punched and continuously connected with space where Slade had been standing less than a second before. Then when Slade was positioned in front of him, he threw another punch. But Slade effortlessly stopped the punch by gripping the fist that aimed at him. "Good-" he commended. Then he twisted Robin's arm around. Robin yelled in pain.

"-but not perfect," Slade finished. He brought his feet lower, kicking Robin's legs out from under him. The leader of the Teen Titans dropped to the ground, unable to resist. "Come now, you can do better than that," Slade taunted. "I haven't even broken a sweat!"

Robin panted as he kneeled on the ground. He was determined, but that wasn't enough. Slade was just too good a fighter. He hardly even registered it when Slade began marching towards him. "I guess I'll have to finish you off after all," his enemy spoke.

Slade brought back his fist and it shot towards Robin. He gasped when a sudden thud on his back caused him to miss his target.

Steven smiled as he saw Slade stumble, having successfully made a springboard out of him. "Robin, now!" he shouted eagerly.

Robin jerked his head up. Seeing Slade incapacitated for the mere moment was all he needed. He flung his fist forward, slamming it across Slade's chest. Slade stumbled back and was met with Steven's Keyblade striking him in the back and sending him into the air. And Robin had leaped up to meet him there, bring his foot into Slade's chest again and propelling him back into the shadows.

Steven smiled as he stepped into the spotlight and picked up the trigger. "Looks like we win."

Robin clenched his fists, cracking all of his knuckles at once. "It's all over for you, Slade," he said firmly.

Then Slade's voice sounded out from the shadows. "On the contrary, boys-"

As he spoke, Steven felt the trigger sparking with electricty. He and Robin stared in shock as the once-important device simply fell apart in Steven's hand. They looked to the shadows that Slade had flown into to see him walking out, unphased by the fight that was brought to him.

"This is only the beginning." Robin and Steven gritted their teeth, having heard this phrase before, from the same person that stood before them now.

"Tell us where the real trigger is!" Robin demanded.

"Trigger?" Slade repeated. He shook his head and stepped forward to face them.

"There is no trigger," he revealed. "Because there is no detonator either."

Both of their eyes eyes widened in shock.

* * *

After several moments of intense concentration, Cyborg prepared his torch one more time. "It should be this wire here," he said, pointing to a wire that would shut down the detonator if he was correct. "Moment of truth, ya'll. I'm going in."

Beast Boy's teeth chattered down upon his nails as Cyborg's torch moved towards the cord. "I can't watch." He covered his eyes with his hand, but removed one so that he could watch anyway. Cyborg's finger edged slowly towards the cord until the flame sliced cleanly through it. A second later, the core turned blue and stopped humming.

The Titans sighed in relief. At least, until the core began to buzz even louder. Then the machine's strips of energy began to flash and the top layer of the detonator clamped down, beginning the process. The cronoton detonator had started.

"No!" yelled Sora. "We blew it!"

"We're gonna be frozen in time forever!" screamed Beast Boy. He and Sora clutched each other tightly in fear. The other Titans panicked where they were. But their frightened state vanished when the detonator began cracking with electricty and started to collapse upon itself.

Beast Boy and Sora opened their eyes to see that they were safe and blinked several times. "Uh, why aren't we frozen in time forever?" they wondered out loud.

"Because this wasn't a cronoton detonator," Cyborg realized. "It was a fake!"

Deep in shock, the five teenagers were oblivious to the floor behind them opening up. A small laser gun rose from the deck of the boat and fired five beams, each precisely hitting one passenger and vaulting them into the water.

One by one, they surfaced. Sora's shook his hair free of water, even though it had maintained its spiky trademark while wet. "Well, besides the taste of sewer water in my mouth, I'm alright." He turned to his teammates. "You guys okay?"

Cyborg nodded, signaling the scanner on his wrist. "Diagnostic sensors say I'm fine."

"We're lucky," Raven pointed out. "Whatever that beam was supposed to do, it failed to do it for some reason."

"Then we are victorious?" Starfire asked hopefully.

It wouldn't be until it was almost too late that they would find out the truth: They weren't victorious at all.

* * *

Five display screens on the wall displayed the internal structure of each individual Teen Titan. Steven and Robin watched as several devices with an S-shaped marking that had grown to sicken them completely by now attached themselves to the cells that flowed through the body of their friends.

"Nanoscopic probes," Slade explained. "The promise of a cronoton detonator was merely the bait for a much larger trap." A hidden compartment in his sleeve opened up and moved a small, cylindrical device with a red button from its hiding place to rest in its master's hand. "You see, with a simple push of a button, these probes can destroy your friends from the inside out."

"Your plan won't work!" Robin snapped angrily.

"Yeah!" Steven agreed. "They won't ever obey a psycho like you!"

"You boys still don't get the picture, do you?" Slade replied. "This isn't about them. It's about you two. It has _always _been about you two. All of my previous endeavors, those cryptic clues I left for you to find, it was a test for you two."

He paced around them in a circle as he spoke. "For quite some time, I've been searching for.....an apprentice. I need someone to leave behind who will follow in my footsteps." He held out his hands, as if weighing something. "At first I was going to do a process of elimination and see who would come out on top, but I'm glad that the process was unsuccessful. Both of you have extraordinary qualities that would be of great use to me."

Slade clasped his hands greedily. "So since both of you have passed my trials, _both _of you will be my apprentices." Under Slade's mask, the two boys could just tell he was smiling. "Robin, Steven: congratulations."

Steven's breathing increased and Robin glared angrily at Slade. "If you think this'll work, you've got another thing coming!"

"I think you forget one thing, Steven," Slade reminded. "I also control the Heartless. They won't take long to find the Keyhole. And when they do, the world is at my mercy." He squinted at Steven. "The fate of your friends is one thing, but would you really risk the fate of the entire world?"

"You're bluffing!" Steven shot back. "You don't know where the Keyhole is! Sora will find it before you do!"

"He's right," Robin agreed defiantly. "You're even crazier than we thought if you think we're going to become the apprentices of someone like-" Robin's last word was choked back in his throat when he saw Slade's finger inch closer, rubbing against the button with a certainty. Both boys' eyes were widened in fear for the safety of their friends. They were cornered.

Slade knew this. So he began to lay out his conditions. "If you join me, if you swear to serve me, if you never speak to your friends again, I will allow them to live." He released the device and allowed it to slide back into its hidden location. "But," he warned, "If you disobey me, even the slightest command, if either one of you attempts to double-cross me-"

Slade laughed a quiet, sinister laugh. "I will annhilate them. And you _will _watch." He crossed his arms, waiting patiently. "So, do we have a deal?"

Steven and Robin looked silently at each other, neither saying a word.

* * *

"Robin? Robin, please respond!"

"Steven? Come on! Steven, answer me!"

Sora and Starfire were practically shouting into their communicators. Steven and Robin had not been seen since they were separated from the main group and had drifted out of contact since.

"Their locators have been deactivated, guys," Cyborg revealed. "We can't find them."

"This is bad," Beast Boy said nervously. "This is really bad."

"They're okay!" Sora assured. "Steven promised me that he only had weak Heartless to deal with!"

"And Robin's pretty unbeatable when he's having a bad day," Raven added.

"Please, friends, respond!" Starfire shouted futiley into the device.

* * *

"_Robin, Steven, where are you_?"

The pleading calls for response echoed through the empty, pitch-black chamber. A uniform with a logo of the letter R displayed on the chest hung over a piece of metal. A small red light on the former owner's utility belt flashed repeatedly. But the former owner was relieved of it.

Instead, the former owner and his companion stood under a lone spotlight, putting on their new uniforms. Black suits with steel plating and a sickly-shaped S etched into the fabric.

Robin and Steven regrettably placed all this upon themselves. Then, they got to their knees and lowered their heads. The reluctant apprentices giving reluctant respect to their master: Slade.

Slade nodded his head in approval. "I know it seems bad now," he reasoned. "But you will learn to like it." Speaking those words, Slade stepped back into the darkness and moments later, the spotlight shut off.

Robin and Steven sat on the cold, metal ground and stared into the shadows that surrounded them.

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY!**


	11. Apprentice: Part 2

"Robin? Steven?" Starfire continued to call into the communicator relentlessly as she scanned the city from above, searching for her lost friends.

* * *

Raven stood at the computer in the living room of Titans tower, monitoring and guiding her team as they searched throughout the night. "Starfire, enough. You've been calling for forty-five minutes."

"_But why do they not answer?_" Starfire asked. "_Perhaps if I try one more-_"

"_Starfire, please,_" Beast Boy interrupted. "_If they were going to pick up, they would've done it by now. The best we can do right now is try and find them._"

* * *

Sora and Cyborg examined the tunnels in the sewers. "Steven and Robin definitely fought Cinderblock and the Heartless down here," Cyborg observed. The walls were broken open in multiple locations and a few stray pipes leaked water. "But I can't tell who won or where they went."

Sora shook his head in regret. "Some friends we are. We never should've left them to fend for themselves."

* * *

Beast Boy, as a monkey, leapt from rooftop to rooftop, checking the alleys for Robin and Steven. "Yeah, especially since Slade's thing was a dud."

* * *

Raven examined a digital scanning of the cronoton detonator. "It wasn't a dud. The cronoton detonator was bait to lure us away from Robin and Steven, bait that we fell for."

Through the communicator, every Titan could hear Cyborg's fist crushing a slab of stone in the sewers. "_I should've known that thing was a fake!_" he growled.

Starfire's voice sounded off through the communicators next. "_But why would he wish to separate us from them?_"

"_Who knows?_" Beast Boy grumbled. "_Maybe Slade finally did the smart villain thing and decided to get them out of the picture for good. Easier to do that when they're alone then when it's seven-on-one._"

"Why he did that is beyond us right now," Raven reminded. "But the question we need to focus on is this." She squinted at the computer screen and sat in the chair, deep in thought. "If the detonator was a decoy, what was Slade really planning?"

Raven's thoughts were interrupted by a blaring red alarm. "Trouble," she conveyed to her team.

* * *

Two figures descended upon a cylindrical building with a saucer-shaped roof. One, his sillhouette revealing spiky hair, kicked panel from the roof aside, allowing the other, with normal hair, to jump in. The second one tossed a gadget with an S symbol that stuck itself, with a small blade, into a containment chamber's lock. Several red lights that surrounded the symbol beeped and turned on until they all flashed, forming a circle. Then a bright light flashed and it detonated.

It was a small explosion, but it did the trick. The person inside the building grabbed a couple of devices that had been out of reach due to the containment structure he had just destroyed. He motioned to the roof and the spiky-headed figure joined him inside. As he landed, they heard the clatter of boots. Several armed guards were coming down the hallway. "Someone's stolen the thermal blasters!" one yelled. He looked up to see them through his helmet. "There they are! Get them!"

One of the figures turned to the window. Holding out his arm, a strangly shaped weapon appeared in his hand and he tossed it at the window, smashing it open. He and the spiky-haired figure made their escape, even as the guards opened fire upon them with bright lasers. Not letting up, the guards hopped out the window after them and stepped onto the walkway just outside.

"Where'd they go?" one observed out loud. He looked around, clueless. "Split up!" he ordered.

The two figures patiently hung from above on a metal pole. After the guards had dispersed to begin checking the surrounding areas of the building, they dropped safely to the floor and began to head towards the edge of the roof.

"Freeze!"

The figures had barely stepped forward when the Teen Titans surrounded them. Cyborg, Raven, and Sora had come from the right while Starfire and Beast Boy took charge of the left flank. But the center flank was bare, and the two figures ran forward across a bridge that led to another edge of the building, followed closely by the Titans.

Near the edge, the two figures skidded to a halt and spun around to face them in a battle-ready stance. In the moonlight, their faces became visible. The Titans, rushing forward, halted in shock.

"That's not Slade!" cried Beast Boy. "That's-"

"Robin?" finished Starfire.

"Steven?" Sora cried inredulously.

Their missing teammates stood before them. No look of relief showed over their faces. No emotion showed on their faces at all. They only prepared to fight, wearing the tunics with the letter S sewn into it.

"Dude," Cyborg breathed, staring at his teammates. He shook his head to clear his mind. "Guys! What the-"

Without warning, Steven pulled out his Keyblade and chucked it at Cyborg, who was knocked back by the force. Sora looked back and forth between the two and watched. "Steven! What's wrong with you?"

Unknown to the Titans, an earpiece was nested in the ears of both Steven and Robin. Through that earpiece, Slade spoke, the two apprentices being the only listeners.

"_Not a word, boys. Not a word. They're not your friends anymore._"

Angrily, Robin and Steven fired the thermal blasters they had stolen into the ground just before them. It completely annhilated the section of the bridge in front of them, creating a cloud of smoke. It wasn't very noticable, but it was big enough. For after a few moments, their shadows faded away from inside the smoke.

Cyborg got up and every Titan just stared in silence at the destruction their supposed 'friends' had just caused in retaliation. Against them. And so on the way back to the tower, the same thoughts echoed in the head of each Titan.

_Robin.....Steven......_

_Why?_

_

* * *

_

Standing under the spotlight, Robin and Steven grudgingly held out their catch for the night. "Excellent work, boys." Slade, their newly self-appointed master, spoke from the shadows. "Believe me when I say that I'm quite pleased. You two are already becoming the perfect apprentices I envisioned you could be."

"Enjoy the free service while it lasts," Steven said angrily.

"This deal won't last forever," Robin added. "Believe me when I say it can't."

"It can and it will," Slade replied. "Would you like a reminder?"

A video display appeared on the screen, showing various images of the Titans gettng blasted by the laser that had implanted Steven and Robin's motivation inside of their bodies. "The Titans still don't know that my cronoton detonator was more than a decoy to lure them away from you. And now that the probes are in their bodies, it might be years before they're discovered. Decades, even."

He stepped into view, holding the cylindrical object with the simple red button whose purpose had more importance than one would immediately realize. "Unless one of you decides to disobey me. Then I can destroy your....._former_ friends with the push of a button."

"You think that makes you secure?" Steven replied. "Let me tell you something, Slade. When people get feel comfortable, they tend to let their guard down."

"Exactly," Robin agreed. "Once that happens, we'll get the trigger. Our friends will be out of danger and you _will _pay."

"That sounds like a threat, boys," Slade taunted. "A pretty good one, actually. That threat is filled with betrayal, destruction, and revenge." He smirked behind them. "You two are starting to think like me after all."

The two former Titans began to tremble with anger. Steven dived for Slade's legs, trying to upset his balance and Robin aimed his hand for Slade's arm, attempting to get the trigger.

Slade had easily anticipated this. He grabbed Robin's arm and twisted it backwards, causing Robin to yell in pain. Simultaneously, he brought his foot up to kick Steven's chin. Once he was on the ground, Slade forced his foot down upon Steven's chest and pinned him.

"I monitored your vital signs during the mission," Slade informed them. "You both had very similar symptoms. Adrenaline, elevated heart rate, and endorphins." Robin and Steven groaned under the pressure of Slade's aggressive hold. "You won't admit it, but on some level-" He dropped his voice to a confident whisper. "You _enjoyed _stealing for me. It gave you a _thrill_."

He released his apprentices, who stood up quickly, rubbing their aching bodies in pain. "You two will keep stealing. I will continue to allow you that thrill." He walked over to them, strapping the thermal blasters to the wrists of their uniforms. "And sooner or later, you'll see things my way." He departed from the room, leaving them. "Who knows?" he said as he walked away. "I might even become like a father to the two of you."

Robin and Steven silently retreated to two seperate locations inside Slade's hideout. No matter what, it seemed like they were stuck in this apprentice situation. Slade knew this and even if he was overconfident, it was working so far. Until their friends were out of danger, they couldn't make a move. They couldn't speak to the Titans either, leaving Steven and Robin unable to warn them.

This was almost just as bad as what Slade had said to them moments ago.

_"Who knows? I might even become like a father to you."_

Robin looked to the ceiling fan, the only opening to the outside. He watched a flock of bats fly into the night that kept his mind clear. "I already have a father."

Steven, on the opposite side of the room, stared into complete shadows. And to himself, he said:

"I have no father."

* * *

"Okay, the way I see it," Beast Boy said, pacing across the living room in a detective costume. "There are only two logical explanations for this." He held up one comic book. "One; Robin and Steven been replaced by evil robot doubles." The comic depicted a mech wearing a giant golden R on its chest and another mech in the background of the picture, holding a giant, metal key. Obsidian, just like Steven's Keyblade.

"Two," Beast Boy held up another comic, this one showing a drawing of Robin and Steven with sickly blue skin and yellow, swirling eyes. "They're just two more innocent victims of zombie mind control!"

Raven and Cyborg sat on the couch, glaring skeptically at Beast Boy. After a moment of silence, Raven spoke. "As logical as that sounds," she toned sarcastically before shaking her head. "Impossible. I would've sensed if anything was controlling their minds."

"And my biometric scanners confirmed it," Cyborg added. "That was really Steven and Robin." He bowed his head miserably. "_Our _Steven and Robin."

"Lies!" The Titans looked to see Starfire in a fury. "Your scanners are wrong!" Her expression suddenly saddened in her concerned state. "Robin and Steven are our friends!"

"Starfire's right," Sora said, walking in from behind her. "I don't think anything would make Steven or Robin betray us."

"I want to believe that, Sora," Raven said. "But something did."

Beast Boy poked his head in, a serious expression on his face. "Three words: disgruntled radioactive clones." As if Beast Boy were a cardboard pin-up, Cyborg snatched him up by the head while Raven leaped up and kicked him across the room.

"We may not like it, but it's just reality," Raven explained. "Robin and Steven are criminals now. And as it is with every criminal-"

"-the Teen Titans have to bring them down," Cyborg finished.

Starfire's eyes trembled. She looked away, unable to bear it any longer. But her sadness did not spread for long, as the alarm was soon flashing all around them. Sora slowly stepped over to the computer and took a look. The others gathered around anxiously.

Sora sighed when he saw the results. "It's them," he revealed.

* * *

Robin and Steven stood inside a room lined with green circuitry. Under a lone spotlight, their next target, a small, round device with a needle on one end, was before them. It hovered under a single spotlight. Painfully simple, they reached out to take it.

"You aren't walking out of here!" The two spun to face the Titans, led by Cyborg. "Not without a fight." The two former Titans charged at the group, preparing to fight. But rather than attack, Steven and Robin jumped above them. Steven tossed his Keyblade at the ceiling, which broke open a panel as he and Robin soared through it. Steven's blade disappeared as soon as they were out of sight.

"Get to the roof!" Cyborg ordered. "We'll stop them there."

* * *

A panel on top of the roof of the WAYNE ENTERPRISES building broke open and Slade's apprentices made their way across it. But after moments, their earpiece started echoing the voice of their master. "_Where do you think you're going?_" Slade demanded. "_You have yet to complete your objective._"

"The device was too heavily guarded," Steven replied. "We'll come back and steal it another-"

"_NO!_" Slade shouted. "_Go back_," he ordered. "_Unless you want me to destroy your friends, go back and fight._"

"Guys!" Robin and Steven got into a battle ready stance, clenching their fists as Cyborg called to them, backed up by the rest of the teammates.

Sora stepped forward. "We don't why you're doing this, but we just want to talk! Please stop-"

Sora was cut off as Robin leaped forward and kicked him, pushing him back to the ledge of the building. Sora teetered dangerously for a moment before regaining his balance. Beast Boy popped his knuckles. "Guess we've got nothing to talk about." He morphed into a gorilla and began swinging his larger hands at Robin, who evaded them by climbing up the lit-up letters that spelled WAYNE ENTERPRISES.

Robin activated a gadget that trigger a rope that wound itself around Beast Boy's wrists he used it to pull Beast Boy through the giant A, lodging him in it tightly. Then he took to the ground, landing alongside Steven to face a group of friends that they were now forced to call enemies.

Beast Boy turned into a snake and slithered down to join his friends. Cyborg prepared his sonic cannon. "Watch your back, guys," he warned. "I don't know how tough they'll be together."

"Then split them up." The Titans looked to Sora, who had spoken. "I'll get Steven away from the group and you guys take care of Robin."

"Are you certain of this?" Starfire asked nervously. Sora nodded in response.

"Absolutely," he said. He began to charge, holding his Keyblade. "Titans! Go!"

All the Titans charged at once. Robin and Steven were prepared, but almost overwhelmed by the sudden assault. They found themselve defending against multiple offenses ranging from the Keyblade to a tentacle.

To escape the confusion, the two leaped out of the fray in opposite directions. Sora took this opportunity and rushed for Steven, tossing his Keyblade hard and fast. Steven's eyes widened as he landed, seeing the weapon come straight for him. He barely managed to summon his own Keyblade to deflect it, but the force propelled him straight off the edge of the building and onto the roof of the next one.

Sora wasted no time in leaping after him, calling his weapon back to his hand. He landed to see Steven waiting for him, Keyblade held out before him. "Steven, why are you doing this?" Sora asked desperately. He received no answer as Steven struck at him. Sora raised his own blade to combat his former friend. They fought fiercly, exchanging strikes from all sorts of directions, neither getting the upper hand. They locked weapons, pushing at each other. After a few moments, Sora began to push Steven back. Realizing that he was losing his edge, Steven pushed back, regaining his momentum. But Sora continued to push and Steven began to weaken again.

Desperately, he released the Keyblade with one hand and used that hand to drop a flash grenade at his feet. He leaped back as it struck the ground and consumed both boys in a bright light. He slowly uncovered his eyes as the flash cleared. His eyes widened when he realized that Sora wasn't there.

Not in _front _of him. Steven stuck his Keyblade out behind him, deflecting Sora's downward strike before spinning around to face him again. Sora lowered his Keyblade. "You don't want to destroy me, Steven!" he yelled. "If you did, you would've done it the first time. What's _really _going on?"

Steven's eyes widened. Sora was beginning to realize there was a deeper meaning to what he was doing. _Good_, thought Steven. _He's figuring it out._ But he didn't let any satisfaction show as he prepared to strike again.

* * *

On the roof of the other building, Robin was giving his teammates the fight of their life. Raven had to raise a shield of dark energy every second to block Robin's punches and kicks. Cyborg, a distance away, raised his sonic cannon. His aim followed Robin as he fought. "Don't make me...." his voice trailed off. He sighed and demorphed his cannon, charging to fight Robin hand-to-hand. He aimed a punch, but Robin ducked, forcing Cyborg's fist to crash into Raven's defense.

Focused on them, he forgot about Beast Boy, who bashed his head, now that of a goat, into Robin and knocked him on his side and rolling over to the edge, a few inches away from a very long fall. Beast Boy became a human. "Dude! Are you okay?" He rushed over, concerned. Robin snapped up and punched Beast Boy aside, having successfully feigned his injury. He stood up and his earpiece began to echo. "_Fight to win, Robin_," ordered Slade.

* * *

Slade stood by his screens, observing the battles between Robin and the Teen Titans as well as Sora and Steven. His finger pressed down upon a button on a small control. There was a second button on the device, which he proceeded to press as well. Holding both, he ordered his apprentices. "Hold nothing back. Use your thermal blasters."

On the screen, he watched as his apprentices attempted to maneuver away from their opponents, finding the opportune moment to use their stolen weapons.

* * *

Robin threw punches at Cyborg, trying to make him back down. Cyborg held his hands out in front of him, blocking each strike. "Come on, man," Cyborg pleaded, forming his sonic cannon as he blocked with the other hand. "Don't make me do this; I don't wanna do this!" His pleas went unheard as Robin kicked Cyborg's legs and knocked him to the ground, veering his blast off-course.

Robin made his way up the letters that spelled WAYNE ENTERPRISES and dashed along them. He had reached the S when Starfire floated up from below, a starbolt prepared in her hand. "Do not move," she demanded firmly.

* * *

Steven pushed Sora away with his Keyblade, putting them in a face-off position against each other. Meanwhile, a phrase sounded in his ear that echoed in Robin's as well. "_I told you to use the blasters_," Slade reminded. "_ATTACK_!"

Regrettably, both apprentices raised their new weapons and aimed them for their respective opponents.

* * *

Starfire stared firmly at Robin for a few moments. Then her expression calmed. "Robin, you are my best friend," she lamented. "I cannot be in a world where we must fight. If you are truly evil-" Starfire lowered her arm and discharged her starbolt. "-then go ahead. Do what you must."

Robin's mouth hung open and that's when it fully dawned on him that he was in a position he didn't like in the slightest. The blaster powered down as he lowered his wrist. "Starfire, no."

* * *

Steven held his blaster up, aiming directly at Sora, who looked at it with shock. Sora grunted in anger, then sighed deeply. "All right, Steven. You had your chance. If you really are evil now, I have to take you down." He held his arms up, as if to surrender. "Go ahead: Fire." Then he took a defensive stance with the Keyblade. "But you won't win."

Steven's arm trembled as he aimed the blaster at Sora. After a few seconds, he powered it down. "I....I can't-" he began. Then, a piercing noise struck his ear and he clutched his head. The earpiece in his ear was squealing with Slade's anger.

Sora saw Steven drop to his knees. "Steven?" He watched as his friend writhed in agony. _What's going on?_ he thought.

* * *

"I SAID ATTACK!" Slade yelled through the earpieces. The fate of the Titans, the control that triggered the probes, was gripped in his hand, anticipating a moment like this. "That was an order, boys," Slade reminded. "And if you won't obey an order to attack, my probes and the Heartless will." Having eagerly waited for the moment, Slade practically slammed his thumb into the button, triggering the devices that circulated through the bodies of the Teen Titans.

* * *

Robin watched, horrified, as his teammates began to glow an a bright orange with several red dots flashing in their bodies. They cried out in pain, their insides burning more with each second that passed. After moments, Starfire began to fall. Robin leaped forward and caught her in his arms, watching as she died before his eyes. "Stop the probes! Please!" he shouted desperately.

But then it got worse. Black spots began to appear around him and black shadow creatures with yellow eyes began to pour out, slowly crawling towards the fallen Titans. Robin ran around the roof, obliterating as many as he could to protect his teammates.

* * *

Sora didn't know what had happened. One second Steven had been holding his head in pain. The next second, Sora now felt like his body was being attacked on the inside in every spot possible, as if every cell was being destroyed. Sora struggled to step forward. He held his Keyblade up weakly for a moment before his grip was lost and he tumbled to the ground.

Steven watched in horror when he saw that the probes were taking effect. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Even more so when familiar black creatures appeared around him. Shaking in anger, he lashed out vigorously with his Keyblade, striking down a few Heartless. "Call them off!" he shouted to Slade. "Stop right now!"

* * *

Slade smiled underneath his mask as he watched his apprentices pleading him to spare their friends. "_Attack_," he ordered. "If you wish for me to spare them, attack with everything you've got."

He excitedly watched the screen as his apprentices bowed their heads in submission. He savored the short moment in which they charged a giant ball of red energy with the blasters prepared to fire upon their former teammates.

Slade could no longer resist the urge. He threw back his head and laughed at the torment of both his apprentices- his servants- and his enemies.

But in his laugh, he didn't catch the low mutter that escaped the mouths of both of his apprentices.

"_I'm sorry_," they spoke before the cloud of energy engulfed the Teen Titans.

* * *

Sora hardly felt it as he was blasted upward and back onto the roof of WAYNE ENTERPRISES. The landing that he experienced was nothing compared to the gigantic amount of pain he had been feeling moments ago. He grunted as he rose from the ground, followed by the rest of the Titans. Looking around, he saw the Heartless vanish. "They're retreating?" Sora said curiously.

At that moment, he felt something thudding against his back and he stumbled forward. He spun around, swinging his Keyblade at Robin, who deflected it with his steel pads of armor. After a few failed strikes, Robin pushed the blade aside and gripped Sora's arm. He flung him across the building to crash into Beast Boy, toppling both of them. He felt something clasp his wrist and watched as his thermal blaster was dismantled by Raven's dark energy. Then he kicked Raven's legs out from underneath her.

Starfire charged her starbolts and fired them repeatedly at Steven. Steven swung his Keyblade everywhere, deflecting each one to demolish a different target. Angrily, Starfire unleashed a beam from her eyes to attack Steven. But he countered that as well, using his Keyblade to reflect the beam to his left, completely demolishing the supports of the giant A in the giant, lit letters that spelled WAYNE. He ran for the edge of the building, followed by Robin, as the A crashed down, lifting a cloud of smoke. Just like the previous night, the smoke cleared and Robin and Steven were out of sight.

Beast Boy picked himself up from the ground and placed his hand on his chin in deep thought. "Okay, I know where they got the heat rays, but where'd they learn the 'glowing/hurting' trick?"

"I don't think Robin or Steven did that," Raven answered.

"She is right," Starfire agreed. "Robin hesitated. He was lowering his blaster, unwilling to attack shortly before the pain struck us."

Sora gasped in realization. Steven had shown similar hesitation. "Guys?" he spoke. "I think Slade's the one who's learned a new trick."

* * *

Standing in the living room of Titans Tower, Cyborg's eyes squinted, surprised at this new discovery. "I think we have something here," he said, typing keys on the computer. "My advanced sensors are picking up interference on the nanoscopic scale." He looked up and his eyes widened at the results. Among the red cells that flowed on the screen, he could see several metal devices attached to them.

"What is it?" Beast Boy asked, a large helmet with multiple wires protruding from it fixed to his head. He spun around in the chair he sat in. He leaped out of the chair in surprise, dislodging the helmet from his head as he saw the screen. "Those things are inside me?" he shuddered. "EWW!"

"They're inside all of us," Cyborg revealed. "Billions of them."

"This is why he planted the detonator," Sora figured out. "To get these probes inside of our bodies."

"With such technology at his disposal, Slade could destroy us at any time!" Starfire cried in shock.

"But he won't," Raven said. "As long as Robin and Steven do what he says."

Cyborg typed a few commands into his wrist communicator, then connected his arm into the computer. "I'm downloading their frequencies into my sensors. It should be able to lead us to the source."

"Which is where Slade'll be hiding," Beast Boy realized.

Sora summoned his Keyblade. "Then let's go get them back."

The other Titans nodded in response.

* * *

Slade watched the screens on the wall as they replayed the footage of Sora and Robin angrily fighting their teammates, determined to stay on his good side, else they would bring about the team's annhilation. "Remarkable," he said to himself. "My apprentices are progressing faster than I envisioned. I guess they just needed some.....motivation."

Slade felt a hand clasp around his resting fist. He looked to his right to see one of his apprentices. "Motivate _this_!" Robin shouted, shooting a fist towards his face. Slade calmy held up his own hand and gripping Robin's fist tightly. Then he brought his foot into Robin's stomach. Robin was vaulted back, but altered his fall to land on his feet, simply sliding away from the area. As he slid, Slade involuntarily shot his arm up to his right side and gripped a second arm. This time, he flung this one forward. Steven grunted as he landed more painfully than Robin had.

"Boys, that was ruthless, vicious, and dishonorable," Slade toned angrily. Then his voice went soft. "Excellent work. You two are becoming more like me every day." Having said his piece, Slade began to attack. First he punched Robin repeatedly. Robin avoided the first few, but then was knocked into the shadows by Slade's foot. Steven charged, swinging his fists as well, but was vaulted up to the giant, working gears of the place that Slade inhabited.

Steven got up and looked around. His attention was focused when he heard the hissing from a column of steam. One of the gears began turning and it carried Slade down to his level. "Good, Steven. You and Robin are doing much better than last time. With a few extra years of training, you may actually pose a threat."

Steven growled angrily as he prepared his Keyblade. His frustration built up until he yelled loudly, with a column of blackness erupting from him. Soon, his entire body was outlined with the black energy and he stared angrily at Slade. Summoning his Keyblade, he spun it several times before taking an offensive stance.

"That's not like you, Steven," Slade observed. "Very angry. Very _dark_." Slade took out a small metal rod, identical to the one Robin often used. "But I think it'll work." The rod expanded and more steam hissed out from around them.

Steven angrily swung his Keyblade at Slade, putting on a beating that would dent many weapons, but not even leaving a scratch upon Slade. A quick strike across Steven's face later and Slade was now the one on the offensive. Seeing an opening, he thrust the rod at Steven. It stuck inside a machine that responded by leaking more smoke. Steven, meanwhile, had hopped on top of that rod and swung his Keyblade forward, knocking Slade back to another spinning gear inside the hideout.

Just as he had begun to recover, Slade watched as Robin jumped into the fray and slam his foot into his face. Slade plummeted to the cold, metal floor that Robin and Steven had grown so familiar with and slid face-down across it. Robin jumped down to face Slade and waited patiently for him to rise.

Steven hung back, examining himself as he watched the black energy infused with him slowly fade. He looked at the palm of his hand, then the back of it. He breathed short, stuttering breaths, confused and terrified by what he suspected had just occured.

He felt that some darkness inside him had taken over for a brief moment. He breathed deeper, calming himself, then shook it off before leaping down to the floor to face his subdued master. Slade finally managed to pick himself up from the ground. He glared at his apprentices, revealing that they had just managed to put a decently-sized crack in his mask. "You are going to wish you hadn't done that," he said maliciously.

Robin and Steven simultaneously tore the S symbols from their tunics and tossed them aside. They pierced into the ground at Slade's feet. "I only wish we'd done it sooner," Robin replied, just as grim.

"Same here," Steven replied, grinning a bit. "I needed to vent some anger, apparently."

Slade's fist shook with rage for a moment, but then he forced himself to be calm. "Yes, it seems you did. From now on, keep your precious feelings to yourself." Slade stood from the floor and paced towards them. "I have much to teach the both of you. I think I'll start with gratitude. I made you my apprentices. All of my knowledge and power is at your disposal, but all you care about are your stupid little friends!" At that moment, the device that activated the probes popped out of its hiding place within Slade's own armor. "If they're so distracting, perhaps I should just get rid of them now."

"Don't!" Steven held up his hand frantically. "Please....don't. I'll do what you say."

"And Robin?" Slade gestured to his other apprentice. Robin nodded grudgingly. "Good, boys. You are learning well. And from now on, if you please," Slade spoke with glee in his voice. "I would like you to call me 'master'."

Slade's finished speech was marked by the contact of a green bolt of energy coming into contact with his chest and decking him to the ground yet again.

Starfire's eyes glowed in fury as she floated at the head of the Titans. "Leave them alone!"

Slade grunted as he stood up. "Apprentices, attack!"

"Get out of here!" Steven warned. "Now!"

"You're all in danger!" Robin shouted in addition. "He's got-"

"Save it." Beast Boy cut them off.

"We know," began Cyborg.

"And we don't care," finished Raven.

"We're your friends, guys," Sora reminded. "Friends help each other and that's what we're here to do." He summoned his Keyblade in retaliation. "Now let's stop the Heartless and Slade."

Despite their confidence and new knowledge, Slade laughed, knowing he still had the upper hand. "That was beautiful Sora," he complimented. "But I think you'll find that Robin and Steven have no need for friends." Slade happily revealed the controller for his probes and, eve more happily, pressed the button again. A device that spouted red electricty began to activate and its effect was clear.

Immediately, the Titans were struck with a sensation they'd hoped they wouldn't have to experience again. Their bodies began to burn orange again as the probes attacked their insides. Steven and Robin were forced to watch again as their friends suffered and their hearts pounded faster as they watched the familiar black masses form. Heartless crept, one by one, towards the subdued Teen Titans. "This is the price for disobeying me," Slade reminded. "Now do as I command."

Robin looked between his friends, howling in pain, and the device that was the source of all the probes. He narrowed his eyes. "No." With those words, he ran for the device.

"Robin!" Slade shouted. But Robin didn't stop, only moved faster. He leaped for the device and pressed his hand upon the glowing orb of energy. He could feel its destructive power threatening to push him away. So he grabbed the orb with his other hand as well. After several moments deemed the process complete, he let go.

Robin stormed over to face Slade, glowing orange and grunting in pain. With the probes now in his body as well, he had a little leverage. "New deal, Slade," he growled. "If you destroy my friends, you'll lose an apprentice. And I know how much you hate to lose." He collapsed to his knees grunting in pain. He knew any moment that Slade would deactivate the trigger and leave himself open for an assault by every other person in the room.

If only Slade hadn't said the following words.

"Looks like my process of elimination worked after all."

Robin jerked his head upward. "What?" he shouted, despite his agonizing pain.

"Robin, don't you see?" Slade gestured to Steven. "Not only have I just succeeded in destroying my enemies, but I've narrowed down which one of my apprentices is truly loyal to me."

Steven stepped forward smugly. "Sorry, Robbie. That plan might've worked." He raised his finger to state his next point. "_If _I was going to do the same thing you did. As you see now, I wasn't. So looks like this is it for you guys."

"What?" Robin gasped.

"Traitor!" Raven shouted angrily.

"Don't do this dude!" Beast Boy shouted.

"How could you do this to your friends?" Sora shouted.

"Face it, Sora," Steve sneered. "You weren't going to win this battle. So today's victory goes to-" He turned and faced Slade. "-to you, Master." During his speech, Steven saw a small burst of light and spotted a blue beam shooting from Sora's Keyblade. "Uh-uh-uh!" he taunted. He placed his Keyblade in the direct path of the beam and effortlessly deflected it.

Slade proudly placed his hand on his remaining apprentice's shoulder. "That's my boy."

Sora ached all over and he could no longer face it. He bowed his head to the ground and prepared to face his end. Steven just shook his head. "Sora, Sora, Sora. Just give it up! You won't touch that controller and you can't win unless something happens to it."

Steven smiled. "Like _this_!" He gripped the arm that proudly clutched his shoulder and swung Slade to the ground. Now vulnerable, Steven wasted no time in ripping the device from Slade's wrist and tossing it to the ground, quickly smashing it into many pieces. As he expected, the painful sensation that struck the Titans instantly vanished. Unrestrained, the Titans used their respective powers to obliterate the Heartless that surrounded them.

Steven laughed as he watched his plan unfold perfectly before him. "That couldn't have gone better," he said gladly. He looked to his teammates, smiling even wider, if it was possible. "Well guys, I think we all know what to do now."

Robin nodded gratefully. He raised his hand into the air. Cyborg prepared his sonic cannon. Starfire's eyes and hands began glowing with her starbolt energy. Raven's eyes glowed white and her dark energy was prepared to assault her. Steven and Sora raised their Keyblades. Beast Boy reared back, transforming into a green tiger with black stripes.

Then Robin gave his team the order. "Titans! GO!"

Beast Boy charged in first, leaving a triple-scratch mark across the chest of Slade's tunic. Starfire and Cyborg followed up, firing starbolts and a sonic blast to knock Slade into the air. Raven's energy then clutched at Slade's feet and swung him, using the momentum to carry him even farther.

Steven and Sora leaped up to wait for him in midair. Their combined downward strike of the Keyblades rocketed Slade towards the ground, where he landed painfully. They Titans savored their fight, for they could actually hear Slade's grunts of pain as they tossed him around the room. And Robin savored it most of all as he sprinted forward and brought his foot into Slade's mask a second time.

The cold, metal piece that covered Slade's face began to crack more until it split in half. One of the pieces clattered to the floor. Slade, his eye viewable through the remaining half of his mask, was shocked. Desperately hiding the uncovered half of his face with his hand, he ran to escape.

"Another day, Teen Titans," he said, twisting a metal handle to activate a device. "Another day." With those final words, he took off into the darkness. The device began flashing with red lights, slowly. With every few seconds, it was bright enough to see. After a few flashes, the Titans could see that the building was crumbling around them. The giant mechanic gears were separated from their supports as the hideout was shaken by seismic pressure from the device.

Cyborg quickly ripped the device that powered the probes from its perch and ran away with it. Robin looked up to watch a gear falling for him. He dodged its initial landing, but it rolled after him. It would've crushed him if Starfire hadn't pulled him out of the way.

Steven used his foot to slam a door open. "Let's go home," he stated calmly. The Titans followed him out as the building before them completely fell down behind them.

* * *

"Is it over?" Beast Boy asked, muffled under all the technological medical equpiment he was forced to wear.

"That's it, y'all," Cyborg announced, viewing Beast Boy's cells on the computer screen, cleansed of the probes. "The Teen Titans are probe-free!"

Beast Boy happily tore himself out of the chair he sat in, disconnecting the wires that connected to his body. "Go Beast Boy! You're probless! No probes now! Go Beast Boy! Get funkyyyyy!" He danced happily around the room as he rejoiced.

"Hey," Raven piped up to the group. "I know this isn't my style, but-" She paused and took a deep breath. "We just kicked Slade's butt. Shouldn't we-" she shrugged her shoulders. "-celebrate, or something?"

The other Titans displayed surprised looks on their faces for a few moments of silence.

"Yeah!" cheered Steven. He and Beast Boy quickly sped over to Cyborg and they held out their hands, preparing to cheer.

"All you can eat-" Cyborg began.

"-free-form-" Beast Boy continued.

"-_breakfast explosion_!" all three finished, throwing their hands into the air in triumph.

Raven frowned. "Sorry I asked." But before she knew it, she was being dragged by the trio to the kitchen for what was prepped up to be a huge buffet. Cyborg began tossing out several varieties of food -bacon, eggs, sausage, the usual variety- while Steven utilized every part of his body that he could to catch all of the ingredients, quickly laying them out on the counter as he did so. Beast Boy turned into an octopus and almost instantly laid out pots and pans to use for this beautiful occasion.

Robin laughed at their antics before sittng down next to Sora, who sat next to Starfire. "You guys okay?"

Sora smiled weakly. "Yeah, I guess," he replied in a low tone. Robin squinted his eyes at Sora, clearly knowing he was being lied to. Sora sighed and let his thoughts be heard. "Me and Starfire just wanted to say...." he trailed off.

"We are sorry," finished Starfire, looking away in shame.

"_You're _sorry?" Robin shook his head. "What on earth are _you _sorry for?"

"When this whole situation happened," Sora began. "We weren't sure what to think of it."

"We had feared that you and Steven had truly become like Slade." Starfire bowed her head. "And for that we are sorry."

"You guys have nothing to be sorry for," Robin assured. "I doubted myself. I mean, not Steven. Just look at him." He gestured to Steven continued to catch all sorts of breakfast food that was continuously flung at him. This managed to spark a smile in Sora and Starfire.

"See?" Robin said. "There's no way someone like that could be evil." His smile disappeared. "But look at me: I'm very serious and very determined. And as much as I hate to admit it, Slade and I _are _kind of alike. But there's one thing that makes all the difference between me and him." After he spoke, his smile returned. "He doesn't have any friends."

Sora smiled. "I hear that!" He and Robin high-fived in their agreement.

Raven hung her head on her hand, her arm resting on the counter. Beast Boy rose up from behind it, holding two, whole grain pieces of food, vegetarian, of course. "Who wants tofu waffles?" He announced.

Cyborg's frenzy immediately halted and he towered menacingly over Beast Boy. "Man, nobody wants tofu waffles!"

"Yeah, BB," agreed Steven. "Why would they even need tofu waffles? There's no meat in regular waffles."

"I got them, so I might as well eat them!" Beast Boy reminded, glaring at Cyborg just as fiercly. "Now get me the soy milk!"

Cyborg ran around the kitchen, blocking Beast Boy's every attempt to get the lactose-independent beverage. "I'm telling you, you're not getting anywhere near the soy milk!

"Cy, pass me the soy milk!"

"Is there any _meat _in the tofu?"

"No, there's no meat in the tofu! It's tofu!"

"Then nobody wants it!"

The breakfast explosion went off without a hitch....or at least, without any more hitches that an event that chaotic can get.

* * *

At the end of the day, everyone was gathered on top of the tower looking upon the sunset. Beast Boy was telling everyone a story. "I swear, it's true!" he insisted.

"No way, man," Steven waved it off. "Looking directly at the sun for so long is making you see things."

"Dude, I'm telling you!" Beast Boy pointed at the horizon. "Right as it's going down, something appears and just floats there for like a minute!"

"Your eyesight is bad enough from looking at the television all day," Raven scoffed. "If you add sunlight to that equation, you're going to go blind."

"Just wait," Beast Boy urged. "It'll be there again."

Rolling their eyes, the Titans looked ahead to the dimming horizon. The sun seemed to creep behind it as slowly as paint dried it. In the waning moments, the tip of it finally sank below. As it continued to shine a small amount of light upon Jump City, they all gasped in surprise. Beast Boy happily looked up to see their looks of surprise. "Told ya so."

Sora and Steven looked on in shock as well as relief, happiness, and pride. Floating in the air just above the horizon was the trademark Keyhole of the world. Sora triumphantly summoned his Keyblade. The other Titans watched with mesmirization as he pointed his weapon at the Keyhole and shot a beam of light from it. It flew through the air, slowly making its way towards the heart of the world. When it finally reached it, the giant, faint symbol flared brightly. It shone the city once again. Across the water, they could hear the echoing of a lock closing itself.

Robin was the first to tear his gaze away from the spectacle they had just witnessed. "What was that?" he asked.

Steven turned away to face the team's leader. "That was the Keyhole Slade mentioned. If the Heartless had found that first, your world would've been destroyed."

"Man," Cyborg eyed the space where the Keyhole had just been. "That's freaky when you think about it, ya know. Slade was trying to find the thing, but we could see it from our own roof."

Sora looked upon the horizon. "Well, your world is safe. That means we-" Sora cut himself off. After living here for so long, it hit him harder than usual of what he was about to do.

Robin was quick to notice. "What is it?" He looked to Steven, who was also looking down. "What's going on?

Steven took a deep breath. "It means we have to leave."

"WHAT?!?!?" All of the Teen Titans, aside from Steven and Sora, gasped in surprise and shock.

"This cannot be!" Starfire cried out. "This is a cruel fortune that I will not allow to pass!"

"You're not leaving, guys!" Beast Boy dropped to his knees. "Don't make me use the face!"

"ENOUGH!" The others flinched at the shout, then turned to its source: Raven, who spoke next. "Can you at least explain why you're leaving?"

"You went into our minds," Sora reminded. "You know that we go around to save the different worlds."

"We've saved yours," Steven said. "So now we have to continue our mission."

"You mean you won't be living here anymore?" Cyborg asked.

"Sorry," Sora apologized. "As much as we don't want to, we have to leave. The universe is counting on us." Sora's hand moved to his belt and he unclipped the communicator. "I guess you can take these back."

Steven regrettably held his out as well. Robin stayed put, then stepped forward to relieve them from Steven and Sora. He reached his hand towards theirs, preparing to take the devices. They sat in the palms of Steven and Sora, a token of their time here.

Robin's fingers shook in hesitation. After a moment, his quivering hand formed a fist and he pulled it away. "No." The two looked up in surprise at the leader. "You hold onto them."

Steven held out his again. "Robin, we won't need these where we're going. If someone else comes along, your permanent teammate will need-"

"-will need us to make another one, which we'll do," Robin interrupted. He stared them in the eyes, making sure they would understand what he meant. "You guys _are _our permanent teammates."

Starfire took a spot alongside Robin. "He is right. You have done so much for us."

Cyborg followed. "After all we've been through together, giving you the title of 'Honorary Titan' would be an insult."

"You guys are Teen Titans," Beast Boy affirmed happily. "Even if you can't stay."

"Besides," Raven said. "It's not like you'll be saving the universe forever, right?"

Steven chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I guess not."

"So you can come back for a visit?"

"Who knows?" Sora replied. "Darkness is always out there," He looked away regrettably. "As long as the worlds are threatened, we have to stop it."

"Oh....." Raven's slightly cheerful mood was axed and replaced with a look of sadness. Not emotionlessness like they were used to see from her, but actually sadness. "In that case....."

That was when the unexpected happened. Raven threw out her arms and swung them around Sora, hugging him tightly. Sora gasped in surprise as her arms wound around him, but gratefully returned the favor.

After several moments, she released Sora and looked to Steven, who was admiring the scene with confusion. "That was a hug," he stated. "That's, uh.....new, coming from you, Raven." He teetered on his toes and nodded awkwardly. "Are you still-" He was cut off when Raven embraced him just as tightly. Smiling, he hugged her back. "I'm going to miss you guys."

After Raven had finished, Sora and Steven proceeded to shake Cyborg's hand, one at a time. "Take care, guys," Cyborg said.

"You too," Steven and Sora spoke simultaneously.

Starfire stepped forward next and gave them another spine-cracking hug, just like they'd grown accustomed to while living here. "We shall miss you greatly, friends," she said. "I wish for the universe to become safe again, so that we may be reunited soon."

"Same here, Starfire," Sora agreed. He popped his body parts back into place. "But rest assured, we won't forget about you."

Then they turned to Beast Boy. Sora held out his hand and Beast Boy shook it.

"It was fun, dude," said Beast Boy happily. Sora nodded in agreement.

Then Steven stepped forward. "Sorry to leave your whole room to yourself," Steven chuckled.

"When you put it that way, it sounds good," Beast Boy replied. His eyes began trembling. Steven quickly spotted this.

"Don't do that. Stay strong. Don't let it-" Steven's eyes started twitching as well. "We gotta keep it together, man." Both boys' eyes slowly started leaking and when it seemed like they'd explode if they held it in much longer, their eyes began streaming light tears and they shook hands, gripping tightly.

"I'm gonna miss you, dude," Beast Boy said, laughing and crying at the same time.

Steven nodded, mirroring his actions. "I'll be back one day," he insisted. "I just know it."

"I do too." Every person in the vicinity looked to Robin, who had spoken. "That's one reason why you're keeping the communicators. I just have a feeling you guys will come back someday."

Steven and Beast Boy quickly dried their eyes. "You really think so?" Steven said.

"I know so," Robin smiled.

Steven took a spot next to Sora. "You ready?" Sora asked him.

"If we wait until I am, we'll be here forever," Steven chuckled. "Let's keep going." That was the moment when their work was truly done in the world of the Teen Titans. Two beams of light enveloped them both and they shot upwards, heading for the stars and out of sight. The Titans watched in awe as they slowly faded out of sight.

Robin gazed up into the sky and saw a solitary light beginning to slowly make its way across the sky. He knew it was Steven and Sora and smiled.

Beast Boy stood behind Robin, following the light with his eyes. "You really think they'll be back?" Beast Boy asked, curiously.

"I wasn't just trying to make them feel better about leaving," Robin revealed. "That is honestly what think. They _will _be back one day. And we'll be waiting."

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY!**


	12. Search For the Golden Hand

Aboard the Gummi Ship, Steven and Sora sat in awkward silence. Their departure from Jump City had not been easy. But more than that was disturbing Steven. That brief moment that he had fought against Slade, something dark had awakened inside of him. There was no use denying it to himself. He was _scared _of what had occured and needed to be sure of what happened.

Steven flipped the autopilot switch and spun around to face Sora. "Dude, I have to tell you something."

Sora looked up to his friend. "Yeah?"

Steven opened up his mouth, but nothing came from his lips. Despite his nagging thoughts, he decided to keep it a secret for now. "I was......thinking. About what Robin said before we left." He looked out the window, staring back at the fading speck of a world that they had just left. "I think he was right. I think we'll be back one day." Though he didn't tell Sora of his other thought, he at least made this one known. It was true, after all.

"What makes you think that?" Sora asked curiously.

"I don't know," Steven answered. "It's just a gut feeling. I've never really had a decent home, but I felt like I did when we lived there." He frowned a bit. "I don't know if we will go back, though. Like you said, saving the universe is pretty much a full-time job."

Sora bowed his head. "I know that's the case," he admitted. "As long as there is a threat out there, we're the Keyblade wielders and we're the ones who have to stop it." He got up and looked out the window as they sped through space and flew past several worlds. "But it isn't really bad when I think about it. Sure, I have to fight a lot, but I've made a lot of friends out there," Sora reminded Steven. "Including you."

Steven laughed lightly in response. "Yeah." He stood up and nodded his head. "Thanks, Sora." Mustering up the courage, Steven prepared to tell Sora what he had originally meant to tell him, only to be cut off by the beeping of an indicator on the dashboard. "Next world!" Steven announced. _Oh well,_ he thought. _It can wait_.

Sora read the display of what world they were approaching. "Agrabah!" he cheered. "Sweet!"

"I'm guessing you like this place?" Steven concluded.

"It's one of my favorites to visit," replied Sora. "You'll like Aladdin. He's a nice guy."

* * *

The dusty sand blew across the desert as Steven and Sora trudged through it.

"Favorite place to visit?" Steven bellowed over the storm.

"The city isn't actually that bad!" Sora yelled back.

"Anywhere's better than a sandstorm right now!" Steven retorted. "I wish it would stop!" And as if some higher power had been listening, a resounding _poof _was heard behind them and the swirling mass of sand died down almost immediately. "Whoa," he marveled. "I guess that shooting star listened."

"Sorry!" Sora looked up to see a blue mass zipping back and forth through the air. "I tried to resist the urge, but I'm not quite used to freedom yet. I hear "I wish" and my mind goes on autopilot."

"Genie!" Sora yelled excitedly.

"Sora!" Genie wrapped his arms around his once-absent friend. "Oh, I've missed you!" He spun around several times, making Sora quite dizzy. "I'm just so happy now!" He released Sora and looked over to Steven. "Don't know your friend, but he won't mind if I hug him too, right?" And unable to protest, Steven was swept up in Genie's second hug, getting just as dizzy. "Yeah, that's right, you like this!" Genie laughed.

Steven spun around a couple of times upon release. "That wasn't so bad," he slurred. Then, he executed his trademark falling-to-the-ground.

"So what's with the insane happiness, Genie?" Sora asked. "Besides my sudden arrival,"

"Actually," Genie continued. "That was why I was happy: It couldn't have come at a better time!"

"How come?"

"I'll give you a hint: the initials for this are A.A.J.A-" Genie shook his head. "Oh, I can't hold it any longer!" He shot fireworks into the sky that spelled out six words that made Sora laugh in happiness.

"Aladdin and Jasmine are getting married?" Sora read. "That's great!"

"You bet it is!" Genie cried. "Al was looking for every excuse to stall the wedding until you arrived, and BAM!" Genie transformed into a cannon and fired a shot to symbolize his point. "He finds some all-knowing Oracle in his pile of gifts and finds out his father is alive! Now he's out to find him and bring him back to witness their descent into: Holy Matrimony!"

"A wedding?" Steven jumped up from the sand. "I love weddings! I remember the last wedding I went to; there was happiness, love, and all that other stuff, but there was also free food!" He leaned over to Genie. "There will be free food, right?" Genie nodded in confirmation. "I'm sold!"

"So when are they getting back?" Sora asked.

"It should be anytime now," Genie replied. "We'll wait for 'em right here!"

As soon as he spoke, more sand began swirling around them. Sora and Steven quickly ducked their heads into their shirts, keeping them covered.

"On second though, it's more dramatic to see them come from a distance," Genie decided. He snapped his fingers yet again.

The next second, they were on a smooth, marble balcony. And no sooner had they landed that a speck was spotted in the distance. It grew bigger slowly.

"Is it them?" Sora asked out loud. Genie appropriately turned into a telescope, which Sora held up to his eye. In the distance, he could see the familiar flying, purple and adorned with an intricate desing. And astride the flying carpet were four figures. One was a tall man with dark, greying hair and fit with a long, blue cloak.

The second was a parrot with red feathers, aside from the tail and wingtips, which were covered in blue. A familiar attitude problem, known as Iago.

The third was the human face that Sora knew very well. Long black hair and a small, cylindrical purple cap on top of his head symbolized the one and only Aladdin. Riding on his shoulder, identical purple cap and small purple vest, was his monkey, Abu.

"They're here!" Sora announced. Genie-telescope immediately vanished from his hands in a puff of bluish-pink smoke and waited as Aladdin approached.

* * *

Aladdin rode alongside Iago, Abu and the blue-cloaked man. This new companion had multiple names he could go by. Cassim. Old man. The King of Thieves. But for Aladdin, the appropriate title was-

Dad.

"I'm glad I found you in time for this," Aladdin said.

"As am I, son," Cassim replied. "I had hoped to see you married one day. It's too bad your friend cannot experience this as well."

Aladdin sighed, recounting the fact that Sora was nowhere in sight despite all his attempts to stall the wedding for just a little bit longer. "I know. But if I know Sora, he'll probably show up at exactly the right moment."

"You seem certain," Cassim observed.

"We're approaching the palace now," Aladdin revealed. "I guess we'll see when we get there." He looked forward and before his own excitement could be registered, the flying carpet, with a mind of its own, sped even more quickly towards the balcony, where a familiar friend was waiting.

Aladdin could hardly stop himself. As Carpet came close enough, Aladdin leaped off and landed gracefully, rolling to regain his balance, in just the right position to clasp his friend's hand. "Sora! I knew you'd make it!"

"Good to see you again, Al," Sora responded. "So, a wedding, huh? About time!"

"You should've brought Kairi," Aladdin retorted. "It could've been a double wedding."

"And double the free food!" Steven piped in.

Sora grumbled in protest, his face almost fully tinted with red. His annoyance, however, was interrupted by Genie's reappearance.

"Al! You're back!" Genie swept his friend up in an identical hug that he had administered to Sora and Steven earlier. "I've been setting up new preparations for the wedding. A big crowd is a bad idea! Close friends and family only! I've even got new security!"

On cue, a giant mech, obviously out of place with the technological advancements of this world, rose from a square hold in the floor and sprouted multiple laser cannons on its shoulders, speaking in a robotic version of Genie's voice. "You have entered the perimeter of Aladdin and Jasmine's wedding. Please keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourself, hold still, and prepare to be vaporized. Thank you and have a nice day." In demonstration, it blased its laser over the heads of the crowd.

"Armed and dangerous!" Genie declared. "No scum will get within a mile of this place!" He gestured towards Iago. "Except the parrot, of course."

Iago, perched on Cassim's shoulder, squinted at the Genie in annoyance. "That's a lie," he replied snidely. "I ain't the only scum here. Allow me to introduce this man right here!"

Cassim nodded. "I am Cassim, King of the Forty Thieves."

Genie stood still, eyes wide for a few moments. Then he conjured a walkie-talkie out of thin air and began yelling frantically into it. "All units! We have a Code Red! This is not a drill!"

And soldier copies of the original, hilarious figure that is Genie, adorned in police armor, began coming from all directions.

They came from the sky in helicopters. "Geronimo! Navajo! Apegajo! Pocahontas!"

Cowboys arrived from the west. "Cavalry, charge!"

Every Genie copycat trained their laser-targets on Cassim, surrounding him from above, every side, and up close. "Do not attempt to move or you'll make us shoot ourselves!" Genie announced through a megaphone.

"Genie!" Aladdin groaned, trying to push through the crowd of officers.

"Back off, Al!" One of them, probably the original, warned. "This crook's got a yellow sheet as long my arm!"

"Come on," Steven tried to persuade Genie. "I think we can talk this out!"

"Talk to this, bub!" One of the Genie officers altered his aim, placing the laser crosshair on Steven's forehead. Steven meekly raised his hands and backed away.

"Okay, I'll let _you _handle this," he squeaked nervously.

"Genie, meet Cassim," Aladdin said. "My dad."

Genie's eyes widened for a moment. "Stand down, men!" he ordered. "Smoke 'em if you got 'em." With that command, every Genie copy, soldier or not, vanished, leaving only the original. "If you're Al's dad-" he grumbled. "_And _the King of Thieves-" He roughly gripped Cassim's collar. "I just wanna know one thing."

Cassim gave him a harsh glare back. "Yeah?"

Genie immediately turned himself from angry guy to a French waiter. "Would you like your steak medium or well-done?" Cassim immediately busted into laughter, caught off-guard by the sudden change of tone in addition to Genie's antics.

"Come on," Aladdin said, gesturing to the palace. "I want you to meet Jasmine."

After other introductions, they proceeded to enter the palace.

* * *

Jasmine, princess of Agrabah, awaited in the throne room, wearing her usual attire of bright, turqoise clothes. Her father, a small plump man with a bright tan robe and hat with a blue feather, stood beside her. They both awaited two people. They were expecting the people that walked in to be Aladdin and his father.

So when four people walked in, they were visibly confused. However, Jasmine was able to recover from the confusion quickly as she jumped into the arms of her returning groom. "Aladdin! You're back!" Aladdin gladly spun her around.

"I told you it wouldn't take long," Aladdin replied. "I meant it." Then he gestured to the three people behind him. "I found my father, and we also got a bonus visitor."

"Huh?" Jasmine looked over Aladdin's shoulder to see the spiky-headed Keyblade wielder standing next to some boy she'd never met. "Sora!" She dashed forward and hugged him as well. Sora stood awkwardly for a moment, not expecting this, but returned the gesture. "This is wonderful! I didn't want to start this without you!" She failed to noticed as Aladdin's mouth dropped open. She had been hoping for Sora's arrival too?

She released Sora and turned to the person standing next to him. "Who's your friend?" she asked curiously.

"This is Steven," Sora introduced. "He has a Keyblade too."

Steven bowed respectfully, holding out his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Princess," he said politely.

"Pleased to meet you too," Jasmine replied, taking his hand. As soon as she did, she felt her mind lurch, her eyes only seeing blackness. Flashes of green fire spread throughout the darkness for a few moments. Then, as abruptly as she'd been pulled into the strange vision, she snapped out of it. She cautiously released Steven's hand, trying to keep a calm expression.

"And this is the man of the hour," Aladdin said. "Meet my father, Cassim."

Cassim stepped forward and kneeled in front of Jasmine. "My son must've been born under a lucky star to have found a wonderful treasure like yourself, Princess."

Jasmine laughed lightly, blushing from the charm of his words. "You really are Aladdin's father."

Jasmine stepped aside, giving way for Cassim to bow to her father, the Sultan. "Your Majesty, it honors me to be in your present."

"Oh, stop it," chuckled the Sultan. "I've grown tired of this formality over the years. Besides, we're about to become in-laws!"

Cassim smiled widely, overjoyed at hearing that. "Then I say we rejoice for the bonding of our children!" He swept the Sultan off his feet into a hug.

"Oh my!" the Sultan exclaimed, laughing happily.

"Well, I'd say that went pretty well," Sora observed.

"What're we standing around for?" Cassim yelled proudly. "Our children are about to get married! Let us get prepare immediately!"

"Alright!" Steven agreed. "I'll go first. "He looked down at the attire he currently wore. "Tie!" he announced. Genie immediately obliged to produce him a white necktie, already tightened to Steven's preference. "Okay, I'm ready!"

"I'll go put my wedding dress on," Jasmine said, standing where she was, nervously looking back and forth at each person in the room. She immediately gripped Sora's arm. "Sora, why don't you come help me?"

"Wha-?" Before Sora could protest, Jasmine was towing him behind her and out of the throne room. The group they left behind stared curiously at the strange even that had just occured.

"Am I the only one who finds that really weird?" Aladdin asked.

"Everybody sane in the room is in the same club, Al," Genie answered.

"Maybe she's having a quick fling!" Iago squawked. The group turned to glare at the parrot. "What? This could be her only shot to really play the field before being committed for life!"

"Who're you kidding, Iago?" Steven ridiculed. "Jasmine knows Sora's already committed, even if he and said girl don't want to admit it to each other." Then another thought entered Steven's mind. "Unless she wants to take her shot before they admit it to each other!" He laughed madly. "That's brilliant!"

Iago flew over and perched himself on Steven's shoulder. "Finally! Someone who thinks like I do! You and I are gonna get along just fine, buddy."

* * *

Sora found himself being unwillingy dragged halfway across the palace. "Jasmine, helping you with your dress is something that I'm neither qualified nor emotionally prepared for." Jasmine spun around and pressed Sora up against the marble wall, putting her hands on his shoulders to keep him from leaving.

Sora gulped. "Okay, you are really starting to creep me-"

"Shh!" she hissed. She looked around to make sure nobody was watching, then dropped her voice to a whisper. "I have to talk to you about your friend."

"I know he's a bit weird, but that's not-"

Jasmine slapped her hand over his mouth. "Listen to me! There's something about Steven that he's keeping to himself. When I touched his hand, I felt darkness."

"Darkness?" Sora repeated.

"Yes," Jasmine revealed. "I don't know what's going on, but he is teeming with it. You need to do something about him right away."

Sora nodded, but he was still confused. As Jasmine released him and walked back into the throne room, he began to ponder the situation. "So, does that mean you don't need help with your-"

"I never did!"

"Oh...." Clueless, Sora began walking in the other direction, thinking about what she'd just told him. _Steven is radiating darkness somehow?_ he thought. _I really don't see how that's possible. The Keyblade chooses hearts of light and he's probably the happiest, most cheerful guy I know._ Sora prepared to re-enter the throne room, but his hand stopped at the door. _Wait....wasn't he about to tell me something before we got here?_ With this new thought, Sora opened the door slightly.

"Steven?" he called in. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Sora watched Steven look to Aladdin, speaking softly and nodding his head several times before he made his way over. Steven closed the throne room door behind them. "What's going on?" Steven asked with no trace of sarcasm. "Seriously dude, what did she do to you? Nobody in that throne room even questioned whether that situation was suspicious."

"She didn't want help with her dress," Sora said. "She was worried about you."

"Well, I am a bit of a klutz," Steven admitted. "Wow, she read me perfectly."

"Not that," Sora interrupted. "She said she felt something when she touched your hand. Something...._dark_."

Steven's smile vanished at these words. He sighed and looked his friend straight in the face, his hazel eyes coming into contact with Sora's light-blue ones. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about on the ship," he revealed.

Sora's eyes widened at the prospect of what Steven was possibly about to tell him. "What's going on? Are you an agent of darkness sent to destroy me?"

"No!" Steven jumped back in fear of retaliation. "No, I swear, I'm not! It's just.......when we were in Jump City....during a fight with Slade.....something awakened inside of me. Something, like you said....dark. I was angry at the time and then when that 'something' woke up, it just became even more intense." He shuddered from the memory of it. "It left almost immediately and I felt fine, but it's freaking me out right now."

"Whew!" Sora sighed in relief as his friend finished his story. "Don't be afraid, Steven. Your darkness is your own and yours to control. Every heart is made of both light and darkness. Even mine. It's just the basic nature of life. It comes down to what you choose to do that counts. You don't want to kill me, do you?"

"Hmm...." Sora raised his eyebrow as he watched his friend think. His nervousness began spiking before he saw Steven laughing. "I'm kidding! Of course I don't!"

Sora chuckled in response. "Well, that's good enough for me. Now let's go enjoy the wedding."

They both re-entered the throne room, striding proudly over to the group that awaited them.

"So," Sora asked. "This is it. The first day of the rest of your life."

"Anything you want to get out of the way first?" Steven offered.

"Nope," Aladdin replied.

"Anyone else you want to make a surprise visit?" Genie questioned.

"Not that I can think of."

"Is there one last legendary treasure hunt you want to go on before the wedding?" Iago asked, rubbing his wings together in anticipation.

Aladdin's eyes sparked, suddenly remembering a thing pertaining to the last question. "Well, _I _don't, but can think of someone who does." The entire group, save for Sora and Steven, turned to face Cassim expectantly.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Go on, Dad," Aladdin encouraged. "Why don't you tell Sora and Steven the story you were telling us a few minutes ago?"

Cassim raised his hands modestly. "Please, son, I already told you: You getting married is much more important."

"We may not get another chance," Aladdin reminded. "After the wedding, Jasmine and I will be busy." He and his bride-to-be looked each other in the eyes. "We have a family to start after all."

The throne room erupted in cheering and applause, which was massive despite the limited number of people.

"Alright, Al!" Sora congratulated.

"What a guy!" Steven added.

"Al: Future family man! Hooray!" Genie created massive noise by multiplying himself into at least ten Genies, who all applauded in their own unique way, from clapping to crying to waving a flag.

"Come on!" Aladdin laughed. "Lay off!" He motioned for Cassim to begin speaking. "Go on, Dad. Tell them."

"Very well," Cassim accepted. He took a deep breath. "Long ago, there was a king by the name of Midas who was very rich, but yet he wanted more."

"Seems to happen to most royalty these days," Steven muttered, earning him a couple of glares. "Emphasis on _most_."

"To teach him a lesson," Cassim continued. "The god Dionysus gave him a gift. That gift was implemented in Midas' hand and everything he touched would turn to gold. At first Midas was pleased, but he soon found that it did not serve him well. For you see, literally _anything _he would touch would turn to gold. Whether it be food, drink, a chair-" Cassim paused climatically. "Even his own daughter."

The others gasped in surprise. Cassim took the surprise as a compliment of his story-telling skills and continued. "It was only after his daughter had become a solid gold statue before Midas' eyes that he realized the error of his ways. Hearing his pleas of remorse, Dionysus removed the gift, returned all of Midas' possessions, as well as his daughter, back to normal. Then Dionysus embodied this gift hand of gold, symbolizing the greed that Midas had allow to overcome him."

"Oooooh." The six people and two animals in the room stood amazed by the story he had told.

"So where does the 'treasure hunt' part come in?" Iago asked very insistently.

Cassim smiled gleefully. "The golden hand has the Midas Touch," he revealed. "And it is still out there somewhere."

The group's expression visibly altered to ones of shock and awe. Iago's quickly altered from that to one of excitement. "What the heck are we waiting for? Let's get out there and find that thing!"

"Hold it, Iago," Sora cut him off. "I think the decision should be up to Aladdin and Jasmine, since it's their wedding we'd be interrupting with this quest."

The group turned the decision over to the bride and groom. They looked each other in the eyes once. After a few seconds and smiles on both of their faces, they knew what the answer was going to be.

"Let's do it," they said in unison.

"YES!" The group cheered loudly, but none more loudly than Iago.

"It's settled then!" Genie announced. "We better get some shut-eye, people! It's getting dark!"

"What?" The others looked outside to see night covering the sky.

"When did that happen?" Sora wondered. "It seemed pretty early when we got here."

"The sun goes downer sooner here, Sora," Genie explained. "So everyone find their way to their quarters! The hunt for the Hand of Midas begins tomorrow!" He gave an ominous look to the others and spoke low, but with a very serious tone. "At _dawn_."

* * *

Steven and Sora were led into a luxurious room. Purple silk blankets were laid out upon large mattresses.

"I do hope these accomodations are to your liking," the Sultan said. "They are-"

"Perfect," Steven finished, already rolling around comfortably in his. He took a precious moment to bow to the Sultan. "Thanks, Your Majesty."

The Sultan chuckled modestly. "You're quite welcome, dear boy."

turned his attention to the other Keyblade wielder. "So you're the boy who has saved Agrabah twice. Let me say, Sora, it is very good to meet you."

"The feeling's mutual, Your Highness," Sora replied, rising from his bow. "I'm glad I arrived here in time for the wedding."

"Indeed," the Sultan agreed dismally. "Though you arrived only in time for it to be delayed."

Sora's smile faltered a little bit. "Oh...."

"But no matter!" The Sultan amended cheerfully. "I might not live forever, but I have a decent number of years ahead of me! All that matters is that Jasmine has found a man she can happily spend the rest of her life with!" He sighed and looked up, remembering the past. "I remember the day Jasmine introduced Aladdin to me, the first time I was graced with that smile. From that moment, I knew that boy had a good heart. So I abolished the royal marriage law immediately!"

"There's a law saying Jasmine has to marry a prince?" Sora asked curiously.

"_Was _a law," the Sultan corrected. "After all, am I Sultan or am I Sultan?"

"You're Sultan, alright!" Sora affirmed.

"Exactly! So why should I allow something as stupid and unreasonable as that law stand in the way of true love?"

"If it was so unreasonable, why was it a law?" Sora questioned.

"I'm not really sure," the Sultan shrugged. "I thought nothing of it until Aladdin came along. He's the one who made me question the law in the first place. There are plenty of suitable men out there who aren't royalty, after all. He's living proof." He sighed in satisfaction. "Well, you lads have a big day ahead of you tomorrow, so I'd recommend getting some rest."

"Alright," Sora replied gratefully. The Sutan departed the room.

"Sora?"

Sora turned to face Steven. "What is it?"

"I just remembered something," he replied, a look of nervousness on his face. "Jasmine is a Princess of Heart."

"Yeah," Sora confirmed. "And?"

"Don't you remember our mission?" Steven asked.

"What're you-" Sora began, but halted. "Oh yeah...." he said slowly. Jasmine was one of the seven maidens of pure heart, who were the key to Kingdom Hearts as well as a force needed to hold off great darkness. Jasmine was one of two that King Mickey had not yet transported to the sanctuary of Disney Castle.

Steven nodded when he saw Sora's expression. "Yeah. And we have to bring her to Disney Castle to help us hold off Maleficent's forces."

"But what about Aladdin?" Sora asked. "I don't think we can bring him with us. It would be meddling too much." Sora shook his head in confusion. "On the other hand, Aladdin has already had Jasmine taken from him before. I don't want that to happen to him again and I _really _don't want to be the one who has to take her away."

"Now, I honestly don't see what would be wrong with allowing him to come," Steven pointed out. "I mean, he knows about other worlds, right?"

"Right," Sora said. "Jasmine explained it to him after my first adventure with the Keyblade."

"Well, then I wouldn't say it's meddling," Steven decided. "Besides, what better way to make him okay with it then by allowing him to at least go along and protect his princess?"

"You make a good point, but I just....don't know." Sora slid his shoes off of his feet and swung his legs over the side of the large matress. "We'll worry about it later."

"I'm pretty persuasive," Steven assured. "I think I'll be able to talk them into it."

Shrugging off the matter for now, the two Keyblade bearers fell into sleep instantly, awaiting the treasure hunt that would follow the next morning.

* * *

Aladdin waited eagerly, standing on near the front of a boat that had been prepared for them to sail out to sea, where the location of the Hand of Midas, called the Vanishing Isle, was presumably supposed to be. He handed off the Oracle, a mystic staff with a green emerald to Cassim. "Well, here it is, Dad," he said. "It can answer you one question about anything. It showed me how to find you and it will hopefully find the treasure. Ready to begin?"

"I've been ready almost my whole life," Cassim assured. He held the golden rod up into the air. "Almighty Oracle, where can we find the Hand of Midas?"

The green jewel began glowing with a bright, white light and a large form materialized before them. The form took the shape of a woman, a woman with a long, widened out cloak and empty eyes. "The Vanishing Isle appears at dawn. I shall show you the way." The Oracle's image transformed into a ball of white light and zoomed into the horizon.

"Onward!" Cassim commanded, and the boat began to move more quickly.

"I don't see why we needed to do _this_!" Genie shouted, seeing how he actually _was _the boat they were currently riding in. "I could've been an airplane or something!"

"Because, Genie, the Vanishing Isle isn't in the air," Cassim explained as they came up on the light the Oracle had created to guide them, just before it disappeared over the horizon. "It's in the sea." After he spoke these words, a giant amount of rumbling began to take place. Waves formed from a disturbance that was taking place underneath the surface. Slowly, the form of a temple began to rise from the depths of the ocean. But it didn't stop there. More of the temple began to show and soon, it was shown to be resting on top of something else, something rounded and brown.

"Whoa!" Sora gasped.

"Holy crap!" Iago cried.

The Vanishing Isle that rose from the sea was actually a giant turtle, Midas' temple seeming to be attached to its back.

"That's the biggest turtle I've ever seen," Steven said, mesmerized by the giant amphibian.

"You can stand there and gawk at it when we leave," Cassim insisted, snapping Steven out of his trance. "They don't call it 'Vanishing' for no reason. It won't be there for long."

Genie-boat slowed down momentarily before he simply vanished in a puff of smoke, transporting himself and the others to the base of the temple. Steven was the first to step out. "Genie, couldn't you have moved us a little closer to the temple? Like, I don't know, maybe _the top_?"

"Where's the challenge in that?" Cassim questioned, walking past him. "Treasure hunts are meant to be difficult, but rewarding. Take the challenge away and it's no different than finding a rock in the desert."

"Under all that sand, that's a pretty decent challenge," Steven muttered.

Ignoring his comment, Cassim turned to the other passengers who were exiting the Genie boat. "Alright, I believe we should cover as much ground as possible by splitting into two groups. Aladdin, how shall we split up?"

Aladdin eyed the group, keeping in mind their skills and abilities so as to evenly divide two good teams. "I think you, me, Jasmine, Carpet, and Sora should go this way. Steven, Genie, and Iago can go the other way."

"Any objections?" Cassim addressed the group.

Iago took a perch on Steven's shoulder, grinning. "Absolutely none." He formed a fist with his wing, giving Steven a fist-pound. Steven was noticably grinning quite deviously.

"Psst! Al!" Genie whispered to Aladdin. "I don't like the looks of that. The parrot and the new guy together could spell bad news."

"Relax, Genie," assured Aladdin. "We need a Keyblade wielder in each party in case Heartless or something show up."

"Are you doubting my abilities to take out Heartless, Al?" Genie asked.

"Of course not!" Aladdin rejected.

"Alright," Genie accepted. "But I'll need a resume' on that guy."

"Sora trusts him," Aladdin insisted. "That's good enough."

"In that case," Genie pulled out a megaphone. "LET'S SPLIT UP, GANG!" He chuckled. "I've always wanted to say that."

"Why split up?"

The group looked to the voice that had spoken and spotted a tall, muscular man. His skin was very pale and he wore a purple vest. Attached in between the fingers on his right hand were three curved spikes, all made of sharpened gold. "You're all here, ready to be destroyed. Why prolong the inevitable?"

"Sa'luk!" Cassim and Aladdin yelled out simultaneously.

"How is that possible?" Cassim gasped. "You're-"

"-dead?" Sa'luk finished. "Yes, I suppose I should've died after falling off that cliff." He pointed angrily at Aladdin. "Because of you!" he growled.

"You almost killed a guy?" Iago laughed with pride. "I knew Al had some of that in him all along!"

Sa'luk waved it off. "It doesn't really matter now. I'm going to be the one who gets the Hand of Midas, thanks to some....generous donors." He snapped his fingers and behind him, ten Heartless wearing ragged material appeared. They wielded various weapons such as small daggers, scimitars, and wooden clubs.

Cassim gasped. "Are those-?"

"Yes." Sa'luk revealed. "The inner circle of the Forty Thieves are reduced to the beings you see before you. But why stop there?" He snapped his fingers again and dark grey figures appeared in the same amount.

"Nobodies!" Sora exclaimed. He summoned his Keyblade to retaliate.

Steven followed suit. "Don't worry. It's just Dusks. Shouldn't be a problem for us."

"Oh?" Sa'luk said, curious. "The wielders of the Keyblade." He gestured around him. "Yes, Maleficent was quite generous for allowing me to control these creatures. In return, she requested a little experiment. And I'm so glad that I'll be able to show you the result....right before you die!"

The group watched as each Nobody danced through the air and took a spot in front of a Heartless. Sora gripped his Keyblade more tightly. "I don't like the look of this!"

"Me either," Steven agreed. "Though I think we should've taken him down while he was monologuing. We give villains too much leeway, dude."

The experiment began. Each Nobody bored down upon the Heartless, devouring them in a few loud gulps. After a few moments, they began churning violently. The essences of these beings began to swirl and mix together until standing before them were figures that very vaguely resembled humans. The difference was that their eyes had taken to yellow, derived from the Heartless.

"Meet the Seekers, boys!" Sa'luk turned maliciously back to the crowd of good guys and pointed at them. "Attack!" he commanded.

The beings, revealed to be called Seekers, leapt ferociously at the group. Sora and Steven quickly charged forward and held up their Keyblades to block the various weapons. These were no longer mindless creatures, but competent warriors. They didn't rush mindlessly to the Keybladers, but were capable of complex battle tactics that kept them on their toes.

This was discovered the hard way when Steven found himself faced with three of the Seekers at one time. He had to swipe the weapons away rather than deflect them, for the strikes were that ferocious. It wasn't long before his muscles began to tighten with fatigue.

Sora struck violenty at them, landing many hits. "It's not working!' he shouted. The strikes were doing no more than lightly pounding their exterior, as if he were hitting a rubbery suit. He quickly beat them back to gain a moment. "Run!" he shouted to the others before having to defend himself again. Heeding the cue, the others took off inside the temple. "Steven! Go with them!"

Steven groaned as he continued to falter under the assault of the other Seekers. "I'm a little busy right now!" He tried to push the weapons away and his Keyblade slipped, the weapon accidentally coming into contact with the creature's chest. Unexpecting, Steven watched as a small crack appeared in it. Not giving a second though tto his next actions, Steven charged forward and rammed his body into the Seekers, knocking it to the ground. He reversed his grip upon his Keyblade and rammed it into the chest of the Seeker.

What came next was half-expected. The Seeker roared inhumanly, a sound almost too intense for Steven to bear, a deep growling from the bowels of the creature. Its eyes flared in anger as it experienced the pain of its last moments, before, finally, it split into its two original forms, a Heartless and Nobody. The two pieces, however, had sustained the damage. Staggering for a few moments, they melted into the ground, leaving nothing but a dark cloud of smoke behind them.

Smiling deviously, Steven spun around. "You guys ain't so tough now, huh?" With those words, he took off towards the group, the Seekers pursuing. "Go for their heart, Sora!"

Hearing this, Sora pushed the weapon of one Seeker away and shoved his Keyblade through its chest. He gasped as the essence of the creature dissolved under his attack. "Yes!" Sora cheered. Knowing their weakness, he was suddenly fueled with strength. "You're finished!" He struck another one multiple times before stabbing its heart as well.

Aladdin looked back to see a group of Seekers chasing after them. "Watch out!" He and Jasmine leaped onto the flying carpet while Cassim and Iago took refuge in a small plane, courtesty of Genie. Carpet quickly elevated, but not before one of the Seekers managed to leap aboard.

"Get off!" Aladdin lunged forward and tried to push the creature off of the flying carpet. It held its ground, taking Aladdin's punches without even flinching. After a few moments of futile strikes, it flung its arm at Aladdin.

"Aladdin!" Jasmine reached out, but it was too late. Aladdin tumbled from Carpet and and fell back towards the temple. Jasmine didn't have time to see if he made it safely, for the Seeker now stalked towards her. Making a desperate move, Jasmine punched the Seeker in the face, only to have her arm immediately seized afterwards. "Let go of me!" she cried, struggling.

Aladdin fell roughly towards the temple and tumbled as he landed. Ignoring the pain, he leapt to his feet. "Jasmine!" he yelled to the sky.

"Don't worry!" Steven took off towards the area where the carpet was heading. "I'll make sure she's safe!" He saw Aladdin's look of uncertainty. "You can trust me!" he called back before leaving Aladdin's sight.

Hesitant to leave her, Aladdin turned away and headed to go inside the temple, only to see Cassim walking out of it. "Dad?"

"Look," Cassim gestured. Aladdin gasped at what Cassim held, a wooden torch. Implanted at its top was a large hand, composed entirely of solid gold. "Yes, son. I have found the Hand of Midas."

"And now it's mine!"

Cassim ducked and jumped aside as Sa'luk jumped down from his perch, swiping at Cassim. "Give it to me now before I decide to take drastic measures!" He looked over at Aladdin, grinning mischieviously.

"Sa'luk!" Cassim barked. "If you want it, then take it!" With a quick swipe, he removed the Hand of Midas from the torch, holding it by its original wooden handle, and tossed it to Sa'luk. Gasping, Sa'luk quickly reached out and clasped the treasure.

"Yes!" he cried. "The Hand of Midas is mine!" He flashed his claws. "As is the life of your son!"

"I don't think so." Cassim stood firmly where he was. Aladdin meanwhile, watched in shock.

"What?" Sa'luk looked to Aladdin's transfixed face. "What're you staring at?" That's when he took the opportunity to look at the Hand of Midas. Sa'luk gasped in fright....for he had caught it by the gold part. "No...no!" He shuddered heavily as the power flowed up his left arm, transforming the rest of his body into gold before his eyes. "This can't be happening! No! AGGH!" With his last scream, his face was enveloped and he was nothing more than a statue. Another moment and the weight of himself tipped over, causing him to topple over the edge. It would be several more seconds before he would plunge to the bottom of the ocean.

* * *

The Seeker leapt off of the flying carpet with Jasmine and landed back on the temple. Another group of Seekers was waiting for them. Upon the sight of Jasmine, one created a dark portal in the ground and Jasmine was led towards it. She kicked, punched, did everything she could to keep from moving towards it.

"No!" Jasmine whirled behind her to look for the source, but before she could find it, the Seeker's grip suddenly slackened. She stumbled away and collapsed against a wall of stone. Looking up, she watched as Steven pulled his Keyblade from the Seeker's chest. She continued to stare in awe as he burst forward and cleanly stabbed through each of the other three, one by one.

Satisfied, he walked over to Jasmine. "Today's rescue has been brought to you by **Sand: It's everywhere; get used to it!**" Smiling, he held out his hand to Jasmine. Despite her current fear of him, Jasmine allowed him to grasp hers. She stood up and gasped. This time, she had felt nothing. Grabbing Steven's hand a second time did not send a flash of darkness through her mind.

Shrugging it off, she smiled. "Thanks."

Steven nodded. "No problem."

* * *

Steven led her towards the entrance of the temple, where the others had regrouped. "Hey guys!"

"Hi!" Sora waved. "We took care of all of the Seekers!"

Jasmine broke into a run ahead of Steven and rushed into Aladdin's arms. "Thank goodness you're safe."

"Not just that," Aladdin replied, embracing his princess. "We can get out of here." He gestured to Cassim, who lightly waved the Hand of Midas, as if it were nothing special.

Steven applauded in congratulations to them, as he had been the only who had not done so yet. "Congratulations. You finally found that ultimate treasure."

"What?" Cassim shrugged. "This thing? No. Now I realize that the story of King Midas was more than a true myth. It was also meant to teach a lesson. This thing almost cost me the thing that truly matters." He placed his hand on Aladdin's shoulder. "My son is my ultimate treasure." He stepped towards the edge of the temple. "This thing can join Sa'luk, a man who fell victim to its curse, at the bottom of the sea." He held his arm back and, as hard as he could, flung the Hand of Midas into the air. He watched it, every second seeming like many to him, until finally it plunged into the ocean, sinking to the bottom where, hopefully, no man would ever retrieve it.

Satisfied, Cassim turned back to the group. "Well, son, I believe we have some unfinished business to attend to."

Smiling, Jasmine and Aladdin looked each other in the eyes. "We do," they spoke simultaneously.

* * *

**THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**P.S: MY GOD! I can't believe this took two months to finish....sorry, guys. I wasn't very creatively motivated to write this chapter.**


	13. Six Down, One To Go

Aladdin and Jasmine stood upon the altar. Genie, having adorned himself in a priest outfit, presided over the wedding.

"Everybody!" he called. A good portion of Agrabah's citizens were gathered in the throne room to witness the bonding of these two people. "We are gathered here today to host a momentous occasion; the pairing of two souls eternally longing to be together." He held out his hand. "Best Man, do you have the rings?"

Smiling, Sora nodded. He presented two rings to Genie, who in turn offered them to Jasmine and Aladdin. "Now let's get this sealed, shall we?" Genie cleared his throat. "Do you, Aladdin, take Princess Jasmine to be your wife, in sickness and in health, as long as you shall live?"

Aladdin slid the ring onto Jasmine's left ring-finger and spoke the words he'd been waiting to say for a long time. "I do."

"And do you, Jasmine, take Aladdin to be your husband, in sickness and in health, as long as you shall live?"

Jasmine placed the ring she held on Aladdin's finger and smiled. "I do."

"Very well," Genie nodded. "Now there's just one more thing: Before you confirm 'I do', I have to say you can."

A few feet away, Steven chuckled. Iago glanced curiously at him. "What's so funny?"

"I gave him five bucks to say that," Steven answered. "I heard that line in a Robin Williams movie and Genie sounds just like him."

Next, Genie burst out laughing at the confusion of the crowd. "I'm just kidding!" He raised his hands to the sky. "By the almighty powers of a genie that I possess, I pronounce you man and wife!" He leaned forward to the newly wed couple. "I think everyone knows what comes next," he whispered.

With a smile, Aladdin and Jasmine leaned towards each other. Their lips met and a cheer erupted throughout the throne room as they kissed each other. Agrabah was ready to praise its future rulers.

To the side of the newlyweds stood the in-laws, the fathers of bride and groom, the Sultan and Cassim, proudly shook hands. They were all family now. Then Cassim took the opportunity to step forward and offer his son one last gift.

"Son?" He gestured to Aladdin to come over. "I have something for you." From underneath the folds of his cloak, Cassim pulled out a small, dusty bundle wrapped in cloth. Aladdin gratefully accepted it. He removed the layers of cloth one by one until he allowed it to fall, revealing the gift.

It was a small dagger. The scabbard was lined up and down with several different colored jewels, as was the tip of the weapon's handle. Aladdin slowly drew the blade, revealing the deadly weapon.

"I found it on my travels," Cassim said. "I wished to give it to you upon my return with the Hand of Midas. But as fate would have it, that didn't happen until I returned to you."

Aladdin sheathed the weapon and attached it to the cloth on his waistline. "Thank you for being here, Dad," Aladdin said. In response, his father hugged him.

"I'm only glad I lived to see it," Cassim spoke proudly.

* * *

Sora and Steven paced slowly back and forth in the room that had been provided for them at the palace. "They'll be here any second," Steven reminded. "Have a plan yet?"

Sora shook his head. "I doubt there's a good way to break this news to them."

"My only advice: Make it sound like you have to, but really don't want to," Steven suggested.

"But that _is _how I feel," Sora replied.

"Then it should be simple. If it worries you so much, _I'll_ tell them." Steven prepared himself as the doors opened. The newlyweds sat upon the

"You wanted to talk to us?" Jasmine said.

At that moment, Steven's voice was lost. "I.....well, we...uh...." He opened his mouth, but nothing but stutters came out. He turned away in embarrassment. Sora sighed heavily and stepped forward.

"Aladdin, Jasmine....we need your help." Having spoke the first words, Sora soon found the strength to continue with what he was about to do. "Maleficent's power is rising again. We need to bring her down once and for all. Unfortunately-" Sora lost his voice at this point.

"-we need the Princesses of Heart," Steven finished painfully. He closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the reaction of the couple. He heard two deep sighs behind him. After a moment, he realized it had been Aladdin and Jasmine.

"I guess it's finally time," Aladdin accepted.

"What?" Sora asked. "What are you talking about?"

Jasmine rose from where she sat. "I have been feeling a disturbance for a few months now," she explained. "It hasn't been this strong since Maleficent rose to power the first time. I knew that somebody would arrive to collect me soon."

Sora bowed his head. "I'm sorry it had to be me."

Jasmine placed her hands on his shoulders. "Would you rather it be Maleficent or one of her goons?" Sora tensed a little bit, effectively answering her question. "Sora, we know you have to save the worlds. The sooner that happens, the sooner we can live in peace."

"But I don't know how long it will be before the universe is truly safe," Sora reminded. "As long as the Heartless are out there, I have to keep fighting."

"Look on the bright side," Aladdin suggested. "You can keep coming back to visit." At this, Sora nodded, growing a bit more cheerful.

"Aladdin," he began. "I hope you can hold up here until we can bring Jasmine back."

"Not to worry, Sora!" Sora jumped back as he heard the voice.

"Genie!" Sure enough, the blue being of great power materialized before them. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough!" Genie declared. "I am here to assure you that me and Al have what it takes to ensure the safety of Agrabah! Observe!" Waving his fingers, Genie conured up several soldier clones of himself yet again. "All right, men! We are about to defend our city from the forces of darkness and evil! Are you ready to risk your immortal lives?"

"Sir! Yes sir!" They shouted back.

"Will you give up?"

"Sir! No sir!"

"Does your momma know you're gay?"

"Sir! We are not gay, sir!"

"HALLELUJAH!" Genie cried. "They are fully aware and ready to defend the city!"

* * *

The blanket of night covered the skies of Agrabah. A group of ten stood upon the balcony of the palace, awaiting the departure of three.

Two were of Aladdin and Jasmine, sharing one, long, final embrace.

Two were Steven and Sora, who waited for Jasmine to be ready to leave.

Genie, the Sultan, Cassim, Carpet, Abu, and Iago were standing idly by as the two lovers prepared to part, almost unprepared for the fact that it would be their final moment together for ages.

Aladdin looked into Sora's eyes over Jasmine's shoulder. "Does this have to happen?"

Sora bowed his head. "Unfortunately, it does." He rose his head, forcing himself to look in Aladdin's anguish-ridden face. "I'm sorry, Aladdin."

Facing the reality, Aladdin embraced his princess again. "I'm going to miss you, Jasmine," he said, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"Me too," Jasmine answered, mirroring his actions.

Sora turned his gaze away again to find a small sight. "Steven?" Steven twitched involuntarily at his friend's statement. Quickly, he averted his eyes for a moment. Sora could see Steven running an arm across his face before turning to face Sora.

"Yeah?" Steven continued to blink rapidly, trying to clear the damp spots beneath his eyes.

"You gonna be okay?" Sora asked.

Steven turned to face Aladdin and Jasmine, who were still holding each other for each moment, cherishing each one. "It's not fair," he said. "They just got married and now we're taking them away from each other. I mean the least bit of comfort we could give them is allowing Aladdin to be there to protect his princess."

"But that would break the rules of world order," Sora reminded. "We can't-"

"Screw the rules!" Steven interrupted. He stepped forward. "Guys, I think it's about time we left." Regrettably, Aladdin began to release Jasmine as she made her way, very slowly, towards Sora and Steven, who counted heads. "One, two," he said, pointing at himself and Sora. "Three," he continued, pointing at Jasmine.

Then, out of nowhwere, he shot his finger at Aladdin. "Four."

The group gasped in surprise. Aladdin blinked several times, and began to breathe heavily upon the startling news. "W-w-what?" he stammered. "I don't understand. The rules of world order-"

"Like I just said to Sora," Steven interrupted, "Screw the rules. You already know about other worlds, so I don't really see how this can be meddling any more than we already are." Aladdin was still in shock as Steven led him over to his princess. "Besides, we're talking about you two, people who love each other more than anything, people who have been through challenge after challenge just to be together!"

"People who almost got turned into snakes for a lifetime!" Iago added. "And they didn't care, just so long as they had each other!"

"Really?" Steven asked curiously. "Wow....but yes! That's exactly what I mean! There's no way I'd leave somebody I love because of a stupid rule."

"Just between us," Aladdin whispered, "You should tell that to Sora sometime."

Steven chuckled under his breath. "I plan to someday." He rose his voice to make it audible. "So you're coming with us, Al." He turned to Sora. "That alright with you?"

Sora stumbled back a little bit. _One one hand,_ he thought, _I'd be breaking the rules of world order. On the other, I also think it'd be wrong to separate them._ Sora fingered his chin in thought. _I guess I have to decide which is more important._ He snapped his fingers. _In that case, it's no contest!_

With a smile, "Let's go, Al!" Sora declared.

With delight, Jasmine ran back into Aladdin's arms. "Oh, Aladdin!" she cried in happiness. Aladdin smiled as he spun her around.

"Well, let's get going," Aladdin announced. He pulled out his father's dagger, still sheathed, and smiled. Then, unexpectedly, the dagger began to shine. A column of light erupted around it and began to take shape as it grew. As it cleared, the dagger remained, only much larger. The blade donned the jewels that had once decorated the scabbard and there were two small indents in the blade at the tip.

It now resembled a sword and a key. The clincher for the spectacle lay in the round support that surrounded the handle and a small orb of gold, just like the one that had tipped the handle of the sword. Aladdin now held the Keyblade _Diamond In The Rough_.

"Well, that's quite impressive," Cassim observed.

The four departees began to walk toward the edge of the balcony. Genie, meanwhile, was giving the most heartfelt, exaggerated good-bye of all time. Throwing confetti again and again, he declared all sorts of farewells. "Good-bye! See ya! Adios amigos! Sayonara! Bon voyage! Al fetersen! Don't forget to write!"

He continued to call various salutations to the sky as the four were enveloped in light and transported up to the Gummi Ship.

* * *

Several hundred miles away, a castle floated inexplicably in the middle of a deep, shadowed area of the space in between worlds. This castle had once been inhabited by a powerful group of beings that took a form, yet did not even exist.

The Castle That Never Was now had a new group of inhabitants, the prime one being female. A sorceress with pale, green skin and a wavy black robe. In her hand, she grasped a wooden staff that supported a round, green emerald at its top. Atop her head, her figure curved into a split V formation and atop her shoulder, a crow contently perched itself.

Maleficent, the mistress of all evil, was now occupying this castle, as well as five of her associates, the bumbling lackey known only as Pete standing at her side.

She pinched the piece of skin between her eyes. "I suppose I ought to be used to incompetence by now," she sighed. "No matter where I travel, no matter who I recruit, no matter what powerful beings I create, my plans are always foiled by that wretched Keyblade wielder and useless animals he calls his friends."

"I have a small correction." A man spoke up, a man who wore the attire of a British naval officer and a white wig to symbolize his position of power. "We have been investigating the situation and our discoveries are rather curious." The man drew a small cutlass and pinpointed a location on a map that lay before them. "In the location known as Ant Island, the mob of grasshoppers reported no sightings of the dog or duck creatures known to travel with Sora."

"Thank you, Lord Beckett," Maleficent answered gratefully. "This shows a new turn of events. Sora appears to be working alone now." She turned to her other allies. "Unless there is more you have discovered?"

A teenage girl with long, brown hair stepped into the illumination. "There is. When I contacted Slade, I found that he had survived the encounter with Sora and the allies he had befriended in that world. He also, unfortunately, resigned his commission to work with us. He managed to rid himself of the power to control the Heartless and retreated into a hidden location. We have been unable to track him."

"And you let him run and hide like that?" Maleficent inquired.

"Unfortunately, that man has quite the devious mind." A tall, grey-skinned man glided into the inner circle. He was draped in a black and grey cloak and his head burned with a blue flame where his hair should've been. "Seriously, the instant he cuts ties with us? Poof! He vanishes! Gone faster than a Gorgon when confronted with a mirror. This is one guy who does not like to lose."

"Then forget about him," Maleficent said, waving him off. "He can be dealt with once we have taken care of our main priorities."

"In the meantime-" Another man spoke up. He had black hair that was smooth and long, and he was wearing a large, red shirt that bulged with his muscles. "He did leave us with some rather interesting news. When he cut off our alliance, he said these words: 'I was under the impression I'd only have to deal with one Keyblader, not two'."

Maleficent's eyes narrowed when she heard the words 'two'. "Two Keyblade wielders?" He hand moved to her chin as she clutched it in thought. "Then it appears that either his friend Riku or the mouse known as King Mickey has joined him in his fight." She turned to speak to Pete. "Alright, Pete. It's your turn to have a go at fighting those imbeciles."

The plump deformation vaguely classifiable as a cat pumped his fists in delight, laughing. "Bring 'em on! Those two spiky-headed jerks won't know what hit 'em!"

"We'll soon see," Maleficent grumbled in doubt. "I want you to find a world and recruit some new allies. Make sure our enemies are lured to that world somehow. Send Heartless ships to orbit worlds close to the destination of the last Princess of Heart. If we can destroy them before they even enter a world, that will be all the better."

"As you wish, m'lady," Pete replied, bowing respectfully.

"Then off with you," Maleficent urged, waving her arm. A large portal of darkness rose from the empty space and Pete strolled inside, vanishing. "Well, now that is settled." She turned to her other colleagues. "I suppose this meeting is dismissed for now. We shall rendezvous back here soon. For now, return to your worlds and wait. If Sora and Riku arrive in your world, use your resources to destroy them any way that you can!"

Upon this, each individual member of the evil council departed the castle, leaving only Maleficent. She turned away from the table and stepped away from it. "So Sora, it appears that we are destined to face again." She shook her head, chuckling. "As always, you show remarkable skill and have defeated three imbeciles I had the unfortunate pleasure of working with." She chuckled louder. "You may be wondering: what exactly is the purpose of the Seekers? What are they trying to do?"

She whirled around again, laughing. "Well, they are of no importance. Red herrings, if you will. I could simply toss them aside without a care. No, the Seekers are not what you need to worry about. There is more to what I am trying to accomplish. But certain conditions need to be met first." Her eyes widened as her laughter continued. "I know you're gathering the Princesses of Heart. With you out of the way, gaining them will become an easy task. But if you gather them all in once place for me, it'll be just as simple."

She threw back her head, unable to contain her energy any longer. "It does not matter what you do! No matter what, I can take the upper hand in an instant!" Her voice dropped to a low hiss. "_This time, you will not defeat me!_" Then her serpentine laughter was let loose, echoing within the empty halls of the castle, heard by no one in her solitude.

* * *

In the cockpit of the Gummi Ship, the four passengers had split into two groups. Aladdin and Sora had taken the pilot seats while Jasmine and Steven sat at the other end of the chamber, several feet away.

Aladdin stared intently at the Keyblade _Diamond In The Rough_ that rested in his hand. "So this is mine now?" Sora nodded in response. "So, what? Am I the guardian of Agrabah or something?"

"Pretty much," Sora confirmed. "With your current fighting skills in addition to that, Agrabah should be in good hands from now on." A small thought popped into Sora's head. "Plus, now that you're a Keyblade Wielder, we're not meddling!....As much, I suppose."

"That's good," Aladdin said, glancing over his shoulder a little bit. "Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"What did Jasmine talk to you about when she called you aside?"

Sora took a short breath before explaining. "She felt a little nervous around Steven. When she touched his hand, she felt darkness inside, darkness that he had unleashed in a moment of extreme anger on one of our previous worlds."

"But he's not dangerous?" Aladdin double-checked.

"Nope," Sora confirmed. "Well, I mean, yes, he can be, in the fact that he's a good fighter." He quickly made amends to that statement. "But trust me, he's on our side one-hundred percent."

"Alright," Aladdin agreed. "If you trust him, that's good enough for me." He glanced over to Jasmine subtly. "I only hope Jasmine can end up seeing that too."

* * *

Steven shuffled nervously under the sideways glance of Jasmine. During basically the entire route to Disney Castle, he and her had been sitting back in silence, doing almost nothing. Aladdin was heavily inquiring to Sora about being a Keyblade Wielder while they were back here in awkward silence. _I wish I knew what she was thinking_, Steven thought. _Is she still suspicious? Is she coming up with a speech to tell me that we're all good? Or is it something else entirely?_

Jasmine had a conflicted mind as well. _He seems like a good person_, she admitted silently, _But the only being I've ever encountered with more darkness than that boy is Maleficent herself. _Jasmine took a deep breath as she prepared to speak.

"Steven?"

"Yeah?" Steven replied almost instantly, needing to hear whatever she had to say.

"I...want to thank you for saving my life....again," she said, a bit uncertainly.

"No problem," Steven assured. "It's what I do." He could sense her uneasiness. Trying to shake off his own, he spoke again. "Look, Jasmine, I kinda understand what you're going through right now. I know that you sensed a decent amount of darkness inside of me and that it's making you a bit uncomfortable. Heck, it makes _me_ uncomfortable knowing I have that inside of me. It makes me re-think my entire position in life."

"Why do you fight the Heartless, Steven?" Jasmine asked.

"......." Steven was silent for a few moments. "To be honest, I...don't really know. I suppose my childish side wants to be superhero or something. The Heartless will also come after me since I have a Keyblade, so that makes me stuck fighting them."

"I was asking for something a littler bigger than that," Jasmined replied. "Come on. You've probably got one in there."

Steven thought for a moment. He turned his head to face forward, giving Jasmine a side view of him. "Probably nothing more or less than the easiest reason there is: Because it's the right thing to do. I know I'm doing good for other people and I feel good knowing that I've done something good for them."

Jasmine blinked in astonishment, as she could feel herself believing every word he said with each second that passed. Suddenly, Steven exhaled a lot of air, breathing heavily. "Wow!" he gasped. "I guess....I had a lot....to get off my chest there." He nodded to himself. "I promise, Jasmine, I would never do anything against Sora or his friends. _My_ friends." He quickly corrected. "I hope we can trust each other now."

With a smile, Jasmine reached out her hand. Resting it on the other side of Steven's face, she turned it slowly to face her. "I regret not seeing this earlier, but Sora trusts you. That's good enough for me." Then, unexpectedly, Steven felt her arms wind around him in a hug. It was awkward for a moment, but then Steven smiled. He freed his arms and hugged Jasmine as well.

* * *

Sora and Aladdin watched in surprise and happiness as they watched the scene unfold before them. "Well," Aladdin said, smiling, "Speak of the devil, right?"

"No kidding," Sora agreed, before noticing a small, blinking light on the dashboard. "We're here," he whispered. He turned around and called back to Steven and Jasmine. "We've reached Disney Castle!"

The two shuffled forward to get to the front of the ship. Steven cleared his throat and smiled. "Welcome to Disney Castle, your residence for the next month or so."

"It's huge," Aladdin breathed softly.

"It seems like the palace could fit in that thing three times," Jasmine added in agreement.

"You think that's crazy?" Steven cut in, getting very into the salesman mannerism very well. "Get this! You'll be sharing the residency with more princesses, like Jasmine, talking animals, a teenager with silver hair, and living inanimate objects. If you find a certain talking duck magician a little uncomforting, please notify me and I shall torch him at your will!"

"Steven!" Sora reprimanded his friend.

"What?" Steven shrugged. "I'm just kidding!" He chuckled. _I'll electrocute him_, he snickered in his mind. _Give him a taste of revenge!_

_

* * *

_

Kairi anxiously paced the throne room as she waited.

"Don't be so on edge, Kairi." Riku shook his head at her. "They'll be here."

"I know," she assured. "It's just been a couple weeks."

As she spoke, a small rumble was heard on the outside of the hundred-foot door of the throne room. After a few more seconds, the smaller door at the base of it opened up. And Kairi immediately bound for it, preparing to tackle the first person to enter the throne room.

And she leaped as the first figure with brown hair collapsed to the ground under her assault. "I'm so glad you're back!" she cried out in joy. "I missed you so much!"

"Uh...I missed you too, Kairi."

Kairi blinked for a moment, hearing a slightly less familiar voice. She looked at the person whom she had jumped at that now lay beneath her. Steven waved awkwardly. "I'm just going to assume that you thought I was Sora. Am I right?"

Kairi rapidly rose from the ground, blushing in embarrassment. She quickly shook it off and turned to the door again, where her spiky-haired friend had now entered. "Sora!" Then she flung herself at him, thought less violently than she had at Steven, and trapped him in a tight embrace.

Sora immediately felt his bones tensing as she squeezed. "Nice to see you again, Kairi," he rasped. "Please....need to breath...."

Kairi released him and turned her attention to the next entrees. "Jasmine! Hi there!" Kairi greeted.

"Kairi!" Jasmine shared a hug with her fellow princess. "It's been a while. You've grown so much!"

"Thanks," Kairi replied. Then she saw Jasmine's hand. "Oh!" She grasped it softly and held it up. "Is that-?"

"Yes," Aladdin finished for her. "A wedding ring." He put his arm around Jasmine proudly. "We finally tied the knot."

"That's wonderful!" Kairi clasped her hands together. "I'm so happy for you two!"

As she congratulated the newlyweds, Riku walked up to welcome back the heroes. "Sora! How's it been out there?"

"Hey, Riku!" Sora said, high-fiving his friend. "It's been pretty rough, but we pulled out okay."

"How about you, new guy?" Riku asked. "Sora been teaching you everything you need to know?"

"My name is Steven," Steven reminded. "And I've been doing good. Sora's not teaching me much, but most of the learning comes from just doing the job. It ain't as hard as people say it is."

Riku nodded. "I'd be out there with you, but I have to stay here and protect the princesses. King Mickey needs me here until they're all gathered."

"Then I look forward to working with you," Steven replied.

"Good," Riku affirmed. "Then you can see how it's _really _done."

"Yeah, right!" Sora retorted. "You got nothing on me!"

"Bring it on!" Riku replied defiantly.

"Hey, everyone!"

The group turned to the head of the throne room. Approaching them was a talking mouse. After all they'd seen, this wasn't uncommon. The mouse in question wore an outfit compromised of red and yellow fabric, lined with a couple of belts.

"Your Majesty!" cried Riku, Sora, Steven, and Kairi. They approached the King and bowed their heads respectfully.

Mickey nodded back in reply. "So were you successful?"

"Uh-huh," Sora replied. He motioned for Aladdin and Jasmine to walk over. "You know Jasmine, of course. This is her husband, Aladdin."

Aladdin took a knee in respect. "It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty." It was silent for a few moments.

Sora looked to the King's face and saw Mickey's slightly uncertain look. "Something wrong?"

"Well, not really," Mickey admitted. "It's just...wouldn't bringing Aladdin here, be....well, you know, meddling in the world order?"

"See, there's the beauty of it, Your Majesty," Steven assured. "We're not breaking the rules of world order! We have the rare exception to it!" He held out his hands, as if to spotlight Aladdin. "Show him, Al!"

"Huh?" Aladdin scratched his head for a moment. Steven held out his hand dramatically to cue him. "Oh!" Aladdin held out his hand in the same fashion. The column of light erupted in his hand and the all-too familiar weapon appeared in his hand.

"May I present the new Keyblade Wielder of Agrabah!" Steven announced in finality.

Mickey jumped in surprise. "Wow! That's great news!"

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "Now we have one more person to help protect the princesses." Sora's tone then grew serious. "But there's also something else you should know. We encountered a new enemy out there."

"The lackey that Maleficent recruited in Agrabah performed some kind of experiment with the Heartless and Nobodies," Steven continued for him. "He literally combined their essences into several deformed, ugly, pretty-tough-to-beat hybrids. He called them 'Seekers'."

"Seekers?" Mickey asked. The two nodded in response. "A combination of Heartless and Nobody....that's very dangerous. Mindlessly obedient, but possessing the power to think logically would create a deadly enemy indeed."

"Not to mention their only weak spot is being stabbed in the heart," Sora added. "It's not very easy to get it either."

"As long as they _have_ a weak spot," Mickey mumbled, "we should we should be alright."

Mickey sighed deeply. "Well, I'm sorry it has to be such a short reunion, but you fellas need to get back out there and get to Belle before somebody else does."

At hearing 'get back out there', Kairi rushed forward and hugged Sora again. "Be back soon," she whispered.

Sora returned the embrace. "I will. I promise."

Steven watched the scene and snickered. "It'll happen," he said to himself. "He'll realize it one day or another."

"Take care out there," Riku said, shaking his friend's hand. "You too, Steven."

"Don't worry about us," Sora said in assurance.

"The next world we save won't know what hit it after we've left it!" Steven promised confidently.

Sora turned away to walk alongside Steven. "That's the spirit!" he encouraged.

Everyone waved as the two Keyblade wielders exited the throne room. They made a short walk to the garden, where they had landed the Gummi Ship.

Steven opened the door and leaped inside, somersaulting into a standing position. Sora followed him in, simply climbing up the ladder of the ship. "Wow, Steven, what happened? You were tripping all over the place when we started this out and now it's like you've been doing this all your life!"

Steven shrugged. "I've been getting slightly less klutzy with every fight." He began pacing around the ship proudly. "I am now fully aware and prepared for-" Steven was cut off as he began to wiggle in place before his feet slid into the air, preceded by the rest of his body, and he landed on the cold, metal floor of the ship.

Sora was overtaken by laughter by how unexpected that event was. "You were saying?" he said between his laughs.

"What the...what just happened?" Steven wondered out loud. He looked around the area he sat and found a lone banana peel. He picked it up and looked at it for a moment, then laughed. "Classic. Whoever planted this has a good sense of- wait a second!" He plucked something off of the banana peel and held it before his eyes. A small, fluffy, white feather. Steven crushed the feather in his hand. "So this is how you want it, duck?" he growled. "Then let the games begin."

Sora gulped in slight surprise. "I'm going to assume things are _not _okay with you and Donald?"

"You have no idea," Steven responded in a low voice. He rose, dusting himself off. "But I'm going to be mature here, and I know I have to prioritize. We have to save the worlds and get Belle." He frowned a bit. "I really don't like saying that. It makes me feel like the princesses are cattle that we're rounding up."

"I don't like the situation in general either," Sora agreed. "But we need their help. We can bring down Maleficent, and make her stay down this time."

"Wait, _stay_ down?" Steven questioned. "You mean you beat her, but she came back?" He fell back lazily into the chair. "Well, that's just great. Who's to say she won't come back again?"

"Second time's the charm, right?" Sora half-joked. "She'll go down this time. I just know it."

Steven smiled and spun to face the dashboard of the Gummi Ship, punching in their coordinates. "Then let's go. We have two worlds to assist on the way to Belle's home."

Sora sat down in the opposite seat. "Then let's get going!"

"With pleasure." Steven smiled and punched the ignition, sending the Gummi Ship into the air and on the way to their new destinations.

* * *

**THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**A/N: Sorry for taking forever....again. However, my writer's block and lack of creative motivation are fading and more exciting chapters will be coming along soon!**


	14. Parlay and Prison

Sora and Steven waited eagerly as they approached the next destination. It soon came up on the screen and Sora leaped in excitement when he saw what was coming.

"Port Royal!" he cheered. "Yes!"

"You've been here before too?" Steven asked. "What's this place like?"

"There are pirates here," Sora answered. "Though they're supposed to be criminals, they're the side you want to be on in this place. I met one named Jack Sparrow and he's one of the most puzzling people I've met, but he's great."

"Why do we want to be criminals here?" Steven asked. "Isn't that the opposite of being a hero?"

"Well, it seems so," Sora allowed. "But there are some British suits here that are really uptight. Plus this isn't the kind of piracy you're used to. It gets pretty crazy, in a demented way."

"That's the way I like it!" Steven cheered. "Now let's go down and-"

A giant boom was heard as something collided with the ship. Sora and Steven were thrown about as their ship spun off-course. "What's going on?" Steven shouted.

Sora leaped to his feet and ran for the cockpit. Outside, he could see several lasers firing at the ship coming from multiple sources. "Heartless ships!" he called.

"They have ships now?" Steven cried. "Oh, great!" He rushed for the dashboard and pressed a button. Two metal plates retracted and from them, joysticks, each with one button, ejected into their hands. "I'll steer, you shoot!"

Sora took the joystick and held down the button. A steady, rapid stream of laser bolts cascaded into the empty space. He moved the controls to strike approaching ships. "I forgot how much I missed this!" Sora laughed as ships began to explode one by one under his fire.

"Halt!" Steven shouted. Surprised, Sora stopped shooting, before he felt the ship take a diving maneuver to avoid a stream of bolts that headed towards their rear. Taking another turn, Steven managed to flip the ship one-hundred eighty degrees and head for the ship that fired upon them. "Now!" Sora, getting into the rhythm, grabbed the joystick and slammed on the button again. Another flash of fire told him that the laser had done its job.

"How'd you learn to fly like that?" Sora asked, still in awe of the spectacle he'd just experienced.

"I built my own ship when I was fourteen, Sora," Steven reminded. "Plus, in my travels, I worked under one of the best pilots out there. He has basically the fastest ship ever built. He said it made a run in less than twelve parsecs. That confused me, because a parsec is a unit of distance, not time, but apparently making that run was a big deal. The guy was a great teacher, though. His name was-"

He was interrupted by the ship rocking again. "Crap!" Steven took up the joystick again and continued to get the ship out of the way. He looked up to see a sonar mechanism on the dashboard. "There's only one more out there!" He spun the ship around to face it and Sora let loose a flurry of bolts. However, this particular ship had some kind of deflector shield on the front that redirected the bolts off to the side.

"That's not good," Steven noted. "Let's try from behind." He steered the ship, trying to get behind the Heartless vessel, but he could see that the vehicle moved as well, making sure they didn't get that chance. "That ship's weak point is definitely the rear." Steven smiled. "Then try _this_!" Steven wheeled the ship around and headed directly at the ship.

"Are you crazy?" Sora shouted as he saw the ship they approached getting too close for comfort.

"Maybe a little bit!" Steven admitted. "Students take after their teachers after all!" Before colliding with the ship, Steven quickly spun the joystick again, bring the ship around. It was now flying away from the ship. "Sora, when I say 'now', you shoot no matter what!"

Sora grasped the joystick nervously and nodded. "Okay!"

"Good!" Steven took hold of a lever with his right hand. "Don't ever try this at home, kids." He yanked the lever upward and the ship rapidly shot higher into the air, placing it slightly above the other ship. Then Steven pulled the lever back and the ship was launched backwards, as if Steven had floored it in reverse. Satisfied, Steven grasped the joystick again and dived to the ship. "Now!"

Without a question, Sora fired the streaming bolts of energy at the vehicle. He saw a few small explosions on the back of it and that's when he realized that their enemy's shields had not protected the back. It was too late for the Heartless ship to do anything about it now, as it slowly began to plummet deeper into space, burning and collapsing. Steven halted the ship, allowing the enemy to drift away while Sora continued to fire. After several more seconds and hits, a large fireball filled the area and the pieces of the ship scattered the airspace.

"Whoa," Sora gasped. He slowly released the joystick as it slid meticulously back into its compartment. He turned to Steven and his look of awe turned into excitement. "That was awesome!" He high-fived his friend in celebration.

"That was pretty awesome," Steven agreed. "As my teacher always said, 'Great, kid, but don't get cocky. You have to keep yourself prepared and alert, but never overconfident...unless you're me, which will never happen'." He shrugged. "A bit wordy, but it's good advice."

"Advice he didn't seem to take," Sora mused.

"He doesn't need to," Steven said. "Because he's himself, he's the only one who doesn't have to worry about anything. He's that good!" He plopped himself into the pilot's seat. "Alright, let me maneuver into the atmosphere. Our ship will be safe enough once we're inside." Tapping a few buttons on the dashboard, he commanded the ship to descend into the world so that they could teleport in. You know this world better than I do, so I hope you know the people we end up having to deal with." He clicked the final switch and rose from his chair. "Ready, Sora?"

Sora nodded. "Ready."

Steven, getting his confirmation, pressed his hand against a button on the wall. The teleporter started up and with a flash of light, both of the Keyblade Wielders were transported off of the ship. The machine crackled with electricity as it finished its job.

* * *

Sora opened his eyes as he felt himself materialize on solid ground. Or as he realized after he felt himself bobbing up and down, the solid deck of a ship. He paced over, admiring the wheel of the ship, though there was nobody at it, meaning this ship was definitely anchored. Sora took a few steps down the stairs and he spotted a man on the main deck, drinking an amber liquid from a dusty bottle and singing in a low, grizzly voice.

"_Fifteen men on a dead man's chest._

_Yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum_

_Drink and devil had done for the rest._

_Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!_"

He cackled as he took a drink from the bottle of what was most likely rum. After a moment of enjoyment, he turned his gaze, scanning the area. The sea rocked the ship, a boy was coming down the stairs, the rum was good-

He halted and turned his gaze back to the stairs, where said boy, one with spiky brown hair, had reached its bottom step. "You there!" he called. "What are you doing aboard the _Black Pearl_?"

Sora lurched as he heard the name of the ship. "The _Black Pearl_?" he repeated. Then he laughed. "Oh, that's a relief!"

The man snapped his hand to his side and pulled a pistol on Sora. "All hands! Intruder!"

Before Sora knew what happened, several other pirates had made their way to the deck and all had swords and pistols drawn and aimed at him. "Wait!" he shouted. "You don't have to do this!"

"Everyone fire on three!" the man with the rum bottle commanded. "One-"

Sora frantically looked around trying to come up with a plan of action. If he didn't do it soon, he'd be shot down right here.

"Two-"

He thought to himself: What would Jack do?

"THR-"

"PARLAY!" Sora bellowed, making sure that everyone heard. As he had hoped, they all ceased their assault, and slowly lowered their weapons.

"He knows about parlay?" a short, bald, midget sailor whispered in surprise.

"That's right," Sora confirmed, walking up to the man who held the bottle of rum. " I'm not too unfamiliar with the ways of pirates. Now does anybody here want to tell me what happened to this ship's captain?" The crew members looked to each other in confusion. "Let me repeat myself a bit more clearly," Sora said. "Where is Jack Sparrow?"

Upon this statement, the crew gasped in surprise. The man with the rum bottle stepped forward slowly. "It appears we're not dealing with your average stowaway, men," he said, stepping to Sora. "How do you know of Cap'n Jack?"

"He and I have some past experiences," Sora replied. "He may have mentioned me before, but we'll save that for later. Can I see him?"

The man shook his head. "Not yet. The Cap'n is on a venture, but I expect he'll be back soon." He looked out to the dark water, as if looking for something. He must've spotted it because he chuckled happily. "Looks like I was right." Without warning, he gripped Sora by the collar. "Now listen here, lad: you're only under parlay's protection until negotiations are complete, and I swear, if you are lying about your so called 'experiences' with Jack Sparrow, you're as good as dead."

Sora gulped visibly, but took a deep breath. "Completely understood," he agreed, trembling a bit. He retreated back to the mast and leaned there, waiting for his friend to bail him out of this.

Then, up the ship's side, Sora saw him: Jack Sparrow. He hadn't changed his attire much, wearing a long, brown coat, sporting dreadlocks that hung down past his shoulders, his head adorned with a bandana and a triangulated leather hat, and several rings on his hands, climbed from the water, placing a skeleton's arm into the hand of the man with rum.

"Not exactly according to plan, was it Cap'n?" the man questioned.

"What can I say?" Jack shrugged. "Complications arose. I overcame them. That's how it usually works." Jack headed for his cabin, but was halted by the man.

"That's all well and good, Cap'n, but there is another matter to attend to. We found a stowaway aboard the ship, but he declared 'parlay' and is claiming he knows you."

"I will admit that I have associated with certain notable people in the past," Jack allowed. "What's he look like?"

"See for yourself," the man said, gesturing to the mast. Sora looked up, smiling, as Jack turned to face him. Jack's eyes momentarily seemed to bug out of his head. Sora watched him blink several times to be sure this was not an illusion. Sora could see he was having difficulty, so he played a trump card. He held out his hand so that column of light could erupt within his grip, showing Jack the weapon of choice.

Jack stared at the blade for a few seconds, then sauntered forward. His grim, serious look faded and was replaced with a small smile. He began to chuckle lightly before he held out his hand. "Welcome back aboard the _Pearl_, my friend."

Sora grinned in response, shaking Jack's hand. "Good to see you again, Jack."

Turning to face the crew, Jack gestured to Sora. "Crew, may I present to you a very good friend of mine: Kora!"

"Sora," Sora corrected hastily.

"Sora!" Jack amended at once. "I may have mentioned him to you lot before." The crew shook their heads. "I'm pretty sure I did. No? Well, it's quite a tale. With the assistance of him, two talking animals, a whelp, and the whelp's girlfriend, this boy managed to help me get back the _Black Pearl_ and kill my old first mate, Captain Hector Barbossa."

This should go without saying, but this bit of news was quite intriguing to the rest of the crew.

"That kid helped you kill Barbossa?" the midget gasped.

"Yes," Jack confirmed. "And now he's arrived to help me out once again."

"Sure, Jack," Sora nodded.

"Good lad!" Jack patted him on the shoulder. "But first, introductions. This is Mr. Gibbs, my first mate." The man holding a rum bottle nodded. "And yes, he always smells like that."

The second man he pointed to was the bald midget. "This is Marty, the shortest pirate you'll ever meet!" The midget held out his fist, which Sora pounded in return.

"And this is Mr. Cotton and his parrot!" A man with a graying beard that wore a blue bandanna and sported said parrot of the same color on his shoulder nodded to make his presence known. "He's taught the parrot to talk for him, due to the fact that he has no tongue," Jack explained. "To this day, nobody has figured out how."

"AWK! Hard to starboard!" the parrot squawked.

"He likes you," Jack translated. "Now Sora, my dear mate, I believe you could be of some assistance to me."

"What do you need, Jack?" Sora asked curiously.

"I need that lovely key of yours," Jack said, fingering it. "Not for myself. I already tried that and it did not work. No, I simply need you to use it for my purposes, eh?" From his pocket, he pulled a cloth from his pocket and held it between two fingers. "Gentlemen, I present to you this." He loosened his grip and allowed the cloth to unfurl before the crowd of pirates. "What do you see?"

"It's a key," Marty pointed out.

"Close, but no cigar. It is in fact a _drawing_ of a key," Jack corrected. "Now Sora, you of all people should know what keys do."

Sora nodded. "They lock and unlock things," he confirmed.

"Oh!" Gibbs appeared to have something to say. "And whatever this key unlocks, there is something valuable inside." He rubbed the fingers of his right hand together greedily. "So we're setting out to find whatever this key unlocks!"

Jack crumpled up the cloth and placed it back in his pocket. "No." This put a look of confusion on the face of his crew, so he proceeded to explain. "We have a key, courtesy of my friend Sora, which would mean we should be able to find what we need to unlock and unlock it with no trouble." Confusing them more, Jack got to the point. "However, we do not have the key on the cloth. By leaving that key out there, we are giving others who are searching for what we need to unlock a chance to recover the key and get to what we need to unlock before we do."

Gibbs gasped in realization. "So we're going after this key to make sure no one else gets it!" he declared.

Jack narrowed his eyes. "You're not making any sense at all. Any more questions?" he added to the rest of the crew.

"So..." Marty piped up. "Do we have a heading?"

"Ah!" Jack reached his arm over and pulled out his trusty compass. "Yes, indeed! We shall sail-" He hesitated as he waited for the arrow to stop spinning. "In a general-" His finger twirled absentmindedly before he decided to simply wing it. He led his hand in one direction, then yanked it to point the other way. "That-way direction!" He snapped the instrument shut. "Come on, you all know how this works. Get this ship moving!"

As Jack retreated to his quarters and the rest of the crew dispatched to their stations aboard the _Pearl_, Gibbs and Marty stepped aside to lean against the ships rail. "I don't know if you haven't noticed," Marty began, "but the captain seems to be acting a bit strange-" There was a short pause before he added, "-er."

"Aye," Gibbs agreed. "Sailing without knowing his heading. Something has Jack vexed, and that ain't a good thing. Whatever thing in this world bodes ill for Jack Sparrow will bode ill for us all."

Sora paced along the railing. He surveyed the ship, preparing to get his bearings back so that he would be able to assist the going-ons aboard the ship. He surveyed everybody on the ship, as he would be acquainted with everybody aboard soon.

That's when it hit him. His eyes darted back and forth around the ship, looking for a certain person. His pace quickened to a fast walk as he made his way from one end to the other. He searched every visible part of the deck, but his fears were confirmed.

Steven had not appeared on the deck of the ship with him.

* * *

When he awoke, Steven found that he was laying down on cold, concrete ground. He felt drops of water splatter against him, dampening his body and clothes, which were practically plastered against his skin. He rose from the wet ground and shook each of his limbs, releasing some of the rainwater from his person and loosening the grip that his clothes had on his body. He shook out his hair last, a shower of drops cascading around him.

"Well, could have had a better landing than that," he said aloud. After a few seconds, he expected a reply, but it didn't come. "Sora?" He looked left and did not see his friend beside him. He looked to his right and there was no Sora. "Oh no..." Steven began to shiver, both from nervousness and the water that chilled his body. _The teleporter must have gone faulty when we got hit by the blast_, he concluded silently I_ saw Sora disappearing, which means he ended up somewhere completely different in this world_. Steven stomped on the ground in annoyance. _This is not good at all_.

As he looked around a bit more, he noticed a large platform nearby. There sat a woman with curly, light-brown hair, wearing a yellow, laced dress. Wondering why she'd be waiting in this kind of terrible weather, he approached her. "Um-"

Upon hearing his voice, the woman turned her head to see him. "Hi," Steven greeted. "What are you doing sitting here all by yourself?"

"It's my wedding day," she replied. "And I'm waiting for my groom."

"Then I believe he may have just arrived," Steven replied, with just a hint of flirtation. Chuckling, he shook his head. "I'm just joking. Congratulations."

The girl chuckled back. "Thank you." She held out her hand. "My name is Elizabeth," she introduced.

Steven casually shook her hand. "I'm Steven. Nice to meet you." When they released each other's hands, they heard multiple rumbles in the distance in all directions. They looked to the shore of a nearby beach to see men on horseback heading towards the place where they sat. Looking back at a stone building behind them, they saw several soldiers in red uniforms armed with muskets. In the center of their party, a man in more casual attire, a slightly used leather coat and hat, was being led to this courtyard with chains shackling his wrists.

"Will!" Elizabeth gasped. She bolted forward, dropping the bouquet she held as she darted for the man. Steven, unaware of the situation, followed along, finding a spot to observe next to a body of the men in red coats.

Elizabeth breathed heavily as she stood next to the man. "Why is this happening?"

"I don't know," the man answered. He shook his head as he forced a smile. "You look very beautiful."

Elizabeth allowed a chuckle to escape her lips. "I think it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding."

"Let me through!" Steven watched as a man in very fancy, official-looking garments and a curly-haired grey wig tried to pass the uniformed soldiers, but was stopped when two of them crossed the blades at the tips of their muskets right in his path. "How dare you!" the man declared, offended. "Stand your men down at once!" Looking to his left, Steven saw a man that had a neat, white wig with his back to the other man, who apparently had command of these soldiers.

The man in question turned slowly towards the other, showing his face to everybody. "Governor Weatherby Swann," he spoke as two officers removed his leather coat. "It's been far too long."

The first man, Governor Swann, blinked in surprise. "Cutler Beckett?"

"I'm actually Lord Beckett now, to be accurate," Beckett corrected.

The redcoats parted, allowing Governor Swann through. "Lord or not," he replied, his voice showing irritation. "You have neither a reason nor the authority to arrest this man."

"Wrong again, Governor," Beckett replied. "Mr. Mercer?" A grim-faced man held a small log with a stack of papers. Beckett sifted through it for a moment, pulling out the paper he needed. "The warrant for the arrest of Mr. William Turner."

The Governor snatched the document in disbelief, then read over it in confusion. "There must be a mistake. This warrant is for Elizabeth Swann."

"Oh it is?" Beckett said, faking surprise. "My mistake. Arrest her too."

Two redcoats quickly clamped Elizabeth's arms in their grasp. "On what charges?" she cried.

Beckett ignored her, continuing to sift through papers, handing another to the governor. "_This _is the one for William Turner." He pulled out a third. "I have another for a Mr. James Norrington."

"What are the charges?" Elizabeth demanded again.

_This is crazy_, Steven thought. _Barely a minute here and the first person I befriend is a fugitive from the la_w?

"Commodore Norrington resigned his commission months ago," Governor Swann announced.

Becket faced the governor, narrowing his eyes. "That is not the answer to the question I asked."

"Excuse me!" Steven stepped forward, ending his silence and calling attention to himself. "I apologize for the interruption sir, but you have failed to answer some questions as well." He gestured to Governor Swann. "He is the governor here. That puts these two under his jurisdiction. Just allow them a moment to hear what they're being arrested for."

Beckett glared at Steve in his mind, but his outside face kept a straight expression. He exhaled and nodded. "Very well, Governor. Tell them."

"The charge," Governor Swann began, "is conspiring to set free a man who was convicted of crimes against the crown and condemned to death, for which-"

His voice choked back in his throat, so Beckett finished the painful statement with a sinister smile on his face. "-for which the punishment, regrettably, is also death." He stepped forward to address the couple. "Do you two, by chance, remember a certain pirate named Jack Sparrow?"

"Captain!" the two snapped simultaneously.

"_Captain_ Jack Sparrow," Will corrected.

Steven's eyes widened momentarily. _Wasn't Jack Sparrow the pirate that Sora mentioned_? His eyes drifted briefly to Will and Elizabeth. _Then these must also be friends of Sora_.

"Take them away!" Beckett ordered. As a group of redcoats departed with Elizabeth and Will in tow, the Lord switched his attention to Steven. "I should very much like to know your name, young man."

"I'm Steven," Steven replied.

"How fortunate for you," Beckett answered, shaking his hand.

"It's a nice name," Steven agreed.

"Not exactly what I was getting at," Beckett informed.

"Fair enough," allowed Steven. "But can you help me out? I'm new around here and I'm not really familiarized with your society. For starters, what are you guys talking about when you say 'the crown'?" The gasps of the redcoats were heard all around him, very obvious. "What?" Steven shrugged.

"What do you mean 'what'?" A redcoat declared. "We're talking about His Majesty, the King of England!"

"So we're in England?" Steven concluded.

"Of course we're not, you twit!" a second soldier snapped.

"Jeez!" Steven exclaimed. "Cut me some slack, man. I said I wasn't acquainted with your society."

"Dear boy, unacquainted is one thing, but what you are showing is nothing less than complete ignorance," Beckett cut in.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ignorant," Steven said, not particularly caring. "You can give it a rest, Lord-person."

"That's Lord Beckett, boy!" Beckett yelled back.

"Okay. Lord Beckett. I'm sorry," Steven apologized. "So, if we're not in England...are we in the New World, across the Atlantic Ocean?" Steven took a wild guess as to why the British would be here, and he made a miracle happen.

"Finally, he shows some sense," Beckett pointed out, ridiculing Steven.

_We'll just see about that_, Steven thought to himself, taking his state of confusion a step further. "So you're under the rule of a king that is all the way across the ocean?" Steven began to laugh. "I think I speak for a good number of people when I say: Why the heck would you do that to yourself?"

Beckett could no longer hide the irritation from showing upon his face. "Seize him!"

Steven's heart skipped a beat. "Say what?" He was able to yell out that phrase just before his arms were restrained by four different redcoats. "Hey! Guys, can't we talk about this?"

"There is little to talk about," Beckett answered. "You disrespected our great ruler, and you will be punished for that." He gestured east with his right hand. "Take them to our other prison. It's about time we gave some extra company to the two we have in there right now."

The redcoats obliged immediately and they began to drag a struggling Steven towards that prison. Steven tried to break free, but he was trapped in the grip of four fully grown men. He could not afford to summon his Keyblade here. It was best that as few people as possible knew about it.

After about ten minutes of forced marching, the redcoats finally made Steven step inside the prison. "You're wasting your time!" Steven insisted as he was forced towards a cell. "I'll be out of here before you know it!"

"Oh, I know," one redcoat said as he unlocked the cell. "No one that insults the king goes for long before getting the noose." He opened up the doors and the other two redcoats shoved Steven to the ground and slammed the door, proceeding to lock it with the key. He whistled a little bit, and from around the corner, a scruffy dog bounded forward to bite down on the ring of keys, securing it firmly inside his mouth.

"I don't need those keys," Steven muttered to himself, inaudible to the redcoats that were departing. He prepared to summon his Keyblade as they left.

"Well, look what we got here, mate,"

Steven turned around to see what could only be the two men Beckett had mentioned before he'd been dragged here. One of them was bald on top of his head, but had scraggly grey hair that went down to his shoulders. The other had greasy brown hair and one eye that looked unnatural, and Steven soon came to figure out that it was wooden.

"They actually tossed a kid in with a couple o' loony pirates," the wooden-eyed man chuckled.

"And they'll be taking the juvenile delinquent to the noose tomorrow," the other cackled. "Assuming he makes it there."

The pirate with the wooden eye blinked a couple of times. "Why wouldn't he?"

"Because he might have some sort of..._accident_," the second one whispered.

The wooden-eyed man was still confused. "What kind of accident?" This earned him a smack over the head from the other one.

"Use your head, mate!" he yelled, before turning back to look at Steven, smiling sadistically. Upon seeing this, Steven began to back away from him. "He'll be the unfortunate victim of two prisoners who hate the world for their incarceration."

The wooden-eyed man suddenly got the picture and turned towards Steven. "Not knowing what they was doing," he said. Simultaneously, the two began to edge towards Steven, who was backed into the wall as he tried to move away. He saw them reaching into their ragged jackets. He could tell that they had weapons, so he had no choice but to bring out his own. He placed his hand by his chest and called his Keyblade to his hand.

"Back off!" he shouted. To his surprise, the two leaped back, gasping.

"Blimey, Pintel," the wooden-eyed pirate gasped.

"Blimey indeed, Ragetti," the other agreed. "He's got one too."

"_Too_?" Steven looked between them and his Keyblade. "You've seen one of these before?"

"We got thrown in here after fighting a kid with one of those!" Ragetti cried indignantly.

"But now we see the tides have turned," Pintel observed.

Steven thought for a moment. _These guys just wanted to kill me. But with Sora gone, I have no backup. These guys could give me that until I find him_. He looked to the two prisoners. "Do you want to get out of here?" he asked.

"Yes!" they didn't even hesitate to say.

Steven smiled. "Then this is is your lucky day. I'm a pretty forgiving guy, and this key here? It does more than beat the crap out of people." Making sure all the redcoats had evacuated the prison, he tapped the cell's lock with his Keyblade. The cell door moved, squeaking a bit. Impatient, Steven kicked it open, clearing their escape.

Ragetti looked on in shock at what had just occurred. "What're you doing?"

"I'm busting all of us out of here," Steven answered.

Pintel and Ragetti looked at each other, then Steven, then back, confusion plastered over their faces like it was painted there. "Why?" they asked simultaneously.

"I'm a forgiving guy," Steven repeated. "Besides, these suits put me in for questioning the way they run their government. Want to know what I said?" The two pirates nodded. "All I said was that it's ridiculous to let yourself be ruled by a king who's a whole continent away. I mean, come on! Isn't that kind of stupid? And you-" he said, pointing to his cellmates. "Busting you out seems like a good payback, wouldn't you say?"

The two shrugged in agreement. "You savvy real good, kid." Pintel held out his hand. "I'm Pintel."

Steven shook his hand. "I'm Steven."

The other man held his hand out. "Ragetti," he introduced. Steven shook his as well.

"This is pretty cool," Steven decided. "We're like the Three Musketeers " Seeing the look of disgust cross their faces, he quickly made amends. "Except we're criminals." Pintel and Ragetti cackled in approval. "Then let's beat it."

Steven laughed as he walked out of the cell. "Barely been here ten minutes and I'm already a fugitive from the law!" Pintel and Ragetti followed behind him. "And I'm loving it!"

_No wonder Sora said this world was cool!_ Steven thought to himself. As he made to exit the prison, his path was crossed by the small, shaggy dog with a ring of keys in its mouth. Upon seeing the three prisoners, it sat down.

"That's right!" Pintel cried. "We outsmarted you, dog!"

The dog bowed its head in shame. Steven bent over and rubbed its head. "Hey there, buddy. You wanna get out of here too?" The dog's ears perked up and it looked at Steven. The next second, Steven felt himself falling to the building's stone floor, with the dog licking his face. "Okay, boy!" he laughed. "I'll take that as a yes!" Upon getting off, the dog followed obediently behind the group as they stepped out, taking their first steps as fugitives.

"Alright," Steven accepted. "So what do we do now?"

"We have to get some kind of transportation," Pintel replied. "We got to get as far away from here as possible."

"Agreed," Steven said. "So what's your story? How'd you guys get thrown in there?"

Pintel grumbled a little bit. Steven shrank back from him a little bit, giving Pintel a smile. "It all started a couple months ago," he began. "I won't lie. We were in a crew of pirates. _Cursed _pirates."

"How were you cursed?" Steven wondered out loud.

"We found this shiny Aztec gold," Ragetti said. "When we took it, we became immortal. But it cursed us with that too. Food turned right to ash in our mouth, and drinks literally passed right through us."

"We were not among the living, and so we could not die," Pintel recited. "But neither were we dead. We suffered for ten years before the curse was broken and our captain killed."

Steven frowned. "Ouch," he said sympathetically. "Well, don't worry. Stick with me, and you'll be fine. All we have to do is-" Steven paused, seeing something out in the water. "-find a boat!" he finished, cheering. "That was too easy!"

Pintel and Ragetti cackled in agreement. "For a person with a Keyblade, you ain't half-bad," Ragetti complimented, patting Steven's shoulder.

"Thanks, Ragetti," Steven said, grinning.

The trio rushed towards the shore, where a stray boat was floating, unoccupied and unsecured. "This ought work just fine," Pintel decided, climbing into the boat.

"Come on, mate," Ragetti called to Steven as he followed Pintel into the boat. "We need to get out of here."

"Just a second," Steven assured. "I want a little payback." He summoned his Keyblade, pointed it at the prison, and whispered a spell. "Thunder."

From his Keyblade, a burst of electricity shot towards the stone building that they were trapped in. Steven watched it go, as if in slow motion, for he wanted to savor this moment. Finally, the anticipation at its peak, the spell's energy collided with the prison. The walls shattered and slowly began to fall apart. In the distance, Steven could see the roof of the building collapsing inside. Satisfied, he leaped into the boat.

Pintel and Ragetti had their mouths open wide in surprise. The next second they were cheering Steven on.

"That was brilliant, Stevie!" Ragetti cried in happiness.

"Way to take a shot at the system, mate!" Pintel agreed.

"Thanks!" Steven replied, gratefully. He picked an oar from the boat and set it in its position, preparing to row. "Now we should get the hell out of here before anybody can attribute that to me."

As Steven and Pintel each took up an oar and started to row, a man was standing upon the beach in a discreet location. He wore a black coat and leather hat. His skin was wrinkled a bit, but he had neatly combed brown hair rather than the wig of the general British high authority.

He turned away. This man needed to inform Lord Beckett of what he had seen.

* * *

Jack stood before a map in his cabin. His hopes were turning around at the arrival of Sora. Thanks to the boy with the giant key, he planned for his problems to be over _very _soon. He tipped his bottle of rum back to take a drink, but only a drop escaped from the bottle, for it was empty.

Jack sighed. "Why is the rum always gone?" He stepped towards his coat and stumbled a little bit, swaying from his intoxication. "I suppose that explains it," he muttered to himself. Keeping himself steady, he withdrew the key to the storeroom.

Upon entering, he questioned when the last time he had been down here was. The racks where he kept his bottles were decaying and covered with moss. Doing his best to ignore it, he reached inside and pulled the first one he could see. "There we are!" He opened up the bottle, and nothing but sand flowed out. "Well, that's unfortunate."

"_Your time's run out, Jack_."

The bottle crashed to the floor and smashed into pieces after Jack let go of it. A gravely voice had spoken from the shadows. Jack strolled over towards the spot where the noise came from. He picked up a lantern from one of the wooden supports and held it before him, illuminating something.

If he hadn't had rum recently, Jack would have freaked out. The figure that now sat upon his ship was covered almost entirely in seaweed. He wore it almost like a coat. On the left side of his face, a starfish was comfortably situated. Jack blinked several times, trying with all his might to rid his vision of someone who was supposed to have died ten years ago.

"Bootstrap," Jack realized. "Bill Turner."

The dead father of Jack Sparrow's former accomplice smiled sadly at his old friend. "You look good, Jack." Water spilled from his mouth as he spoke.

"So...do you," Jack spoke nervously, still trying to comprehend the situation. "Is this a dream?"

Bootstrap shook his head. "No."

"I thought not," Jack concluded. "In my dreams, there's rum."

On cue, Bootstrap held out a bottle for him. Jack grabbed it and, with difficulty, managed to rip it from the grip of his friend. Despite the filth of the bottle, Jack took a long swig, savoring it. It was still rum and it was still good.

"You got the _Pearl _back, I see," Bootstrap observed.

"I had a little help with that number," Jack revealed. "Some spiky-haired kid with a giant key- on board this ship right now-, a couple of talking animals, and...your son."

Bootstrap looked up. "William?" Jack nodded, to which Bootstrap chuckled a bit. "He ended up a pirate after all."

"Family issues aside, what brings you to visit?" Jack asked.

Bootstrap's tone dropped, grave and serious. "_He_ sent me." Jack blinked momentarily, waiting for the worst. "Davy Jones."

"Oh," Jack realized. "So that's it, then. He shanghaied you into his services, eh?"

"No," Bootstrap said. "I chose it." A small, crab-like creature no bigger than a stone was crawling away from Bootstrap, giving Jack the strange impression that it came off his sea-body. "I'm sorry for the part I played in that mutiny against you, Jack. I was the only one who stood up for you." Bootstrap's hand snapped, snatching up the tiny crab. "Everything went wrong after that." He placed the creature into his mouth, crunching down upon it.

"They strapped me to a cannon and I ended up at the bottom of the ocean," he continued. "The entire weight of the ocean crashing down upon me. I couldn't move. But I couldn't die, Jack. At that moment I knew that if there was a tiny hope of escaping this fate, I'd take it. I would trade anything for it."

Jack nodded as he rose. "Amazing what a man will do to forestall his final judgement, isn't it?"

His path was blocked when Bootstrap arose and stepped in front of him. "Don't forget that you made a deal with him too. He raised the _Pearl _from the depths for you, and you've been captain for thirteen years."

"Well, technically-" Jack began to argue.

"Jack!" Bootstrap interrupted, shaking his head. "You won't be able to talk yourself out of this. My fate will be yours as well. Your soul, deemed to crew one hundred years upon his ship."

"Yes," Jack allowed. "However, since the _Dutchman_ already has a captain-"

"You can go to the Locker, then!" Bootstrap bellowed, leaning towards Jack, who inched back. "Jones' leviathan will find you Jack. It will drag the _Pearl _back to the depths with you on board!"

Jack gulped nervously, facing his old friend at an angle. "So...any idea when Jones will release aforementioned terrible beastie?"

Bootstrap shook his head sadly. "I already told you, Jack." He slapped something into Jack's palm. "Your time is up. It comes now." Jack stared at his hand. In the palm, a small dark blob had formed and sprouted several tendrils. It wiggled uncomfortably on his hand. "It comes now. Drawn, with ravenous hunger, towards the man bearing the Black Spot."

Jack's mouth twitched, looking for words to express his distraught state, but there was nobody around to hear it. Bootstrap had vanished.

Sora didn't really register what happened. One second, he was lying in one of the hammocks below deck, the next, Jack was running around the ship shouting orders.

"All hands on deck! Man the fore yard! Give me movement! _Movement_!"

Sora, confused, decided to comply with the rushing that was taking place. He made it to the deck.

"Run!" Jack continued to shout out orders. "Run as if the devil himself is on your heels!"

Sora was first on deck, due to the fact that he had no reason to change his clothes. Next was Gibbs, who immediately rushed to Jack. "Do we have a heading?"

"Ah!" Jack jumped, startled at Gibbs' appearance. "Er...run! Land!" he stuttered.

Jack ducked behind the mast. He peeked around the other side, seeing Gibbs standing there still. He yelped again.

"What port?" Gibbs questioned.

"Did I say say 'port'?" Jack demanded. "No! I said 'land'! Any land!" Upon that moment of distraction, a rope flew over his head and he felt his hat part contact with his head. Looking up at the rigging, he saw a monkey with a diabolical grin, holding the hat. Not bothering with taunts, it simply dropped the hat. The wind did the rest, carrying it off a decent distance away from ship.

"Jack's hat!" Gibbs shouted. He shouted to Sora, who was closest to the wheel. "Bring her about, lad! We have to get it back!"

Sora nodded and leaped up to the wheel, but Jack was there soon after, and he stopped Sora from turning it. "Leave it!" he shouted. The crew and Sora looked astonished at Jack, who was very jittery. "Just...run!" he repeated.

Gibbs shook off the confusion first. "Back to your stations!" he ordered. He headed towards the captain's cabin to see Jack standing stiff behind one of the staircases.

"Cap'n?" Gibbs stepped towards him. "What are we-"

"SHH!" Jack urged, as quietly as his panic would allow.

Gibbs lowered his voice, but kept his tone demanding. "For the love of mother and child, Jack, what's coming after us?"

"Nothing," Jack answered briskly.

Sora stood above deck, eavesdropping on the conversation. So he was not completely in the dark. He knew that something more demented was going on in the world of pirates this time.

* * *

Will stood, keeping his calm. For whatever reason, he had been summoned to Beckett's office. Beckett wanted to negotiate something. That was clear from the fact that he had ordered Will's shackles to be removed.

"The East India Trading Company would like to offer a proposition for you, Mister Turner." Beckett poured a glass of brandy and held it out, but Will didn't accept it. Beckett set the glass down after a moment, then continued. "I need you to go out and make a deal with our mutual friend, Jack Sparrow."

"He's more of an acquaintance," Will corrected. "How did you come to know him?"

"We have dealt in the past." Beckett walked over to the fireplace and held a pair of prongs. A small piece of metal shaped like the letter P was in between them. "We've each left our mark."

"And what mark did he leave on you?" Will questioned. Beckett chose to ignore this question.

"We need you to obtain a certain property of his that we desire," Beckett informed.

"Obtain," Will repeated. "At sword point?"

Beckett shook his head. "Bargain, Mr. Turner." He held up a small journal, filled with a few papers. "Letters of marque, signed by the king. Jack will be free, and employed as a privateer for England and the East India Trading Company."

Will scoffed. "I doubt Jack will consider employment the same thing as being free."

"Freedom," Beckett scoffed in return. "Jack Sparrow is a dying breed. The empty pages of the map are being filled in. The world is shrinking, changing. If Jack does not find his place in this new world, he will perish. Not unlike you, Mr. Turner," he reminded. "You and your fiance face the hangman's noose."

Will nodded in understanding. "I see. This way, you'll get both Jack and the _Black Pearl_."

"The _Black Pearl_?" Beckett asked curiously.

"That's the property Jack possesses that you want," assumed Will.

"A ship? Hardly." Beckett shook his head. "The item in question is considerably smaller, and much more valuable. A compass." Will didn't realize his face had reacted, but Beckett smiled in response. "You know of it? Then I think we understand each other. Bring me that compass, or there will be no deal."

Will exited the office without a word. Upon his departure, Beckett welcomed to the arrival of his right-hand man.

"Lord Beckett." Beckett turned to face a man with neat brown hair and wrinkled skin.

"Mr. Mercer," Beckett greeted. "You must have some interesting news to not schedule an appointment."

"In fact I do, my Lord," Mercer confirmed. "I was on the beach today and I witnessed a rather interesting sight. The three prisoners in the south prison were escaping in a rowboat, accompanied by the dog with the keys.

Beckett sighed in irritation. "I suppose that dog was going to be convinced one day or another." He took a sip from his glass of brandy. "Not to worry. A mere rowboat won't make it very far."

"I'm afraid it's a bit more complicated than that, sir," Mercer replied. "Before stepping into the boat, the boy destroyed the cell that had once held the three prisoners. The instrument he used had the power to shoot what appeared to be lightning that struck the building, crumbling it within seconds. It gets stranger still, for the instrument in question resembled a large, black, key."

Beckett gasped mid-drink, coughing out the liquid onto the floor in shock. "What was that?" he gasped.

"A large, black key, my Lord," Mercer repeated.

Beckett breathed heavily for a few seconds. He downed the rest of his brandy with one gulp. Then he angrily slammed his glass on his desk, shattering it into several pieces. He let out a long sigh, covering his face with his hand. "Maleficent is not going to be happy about this," he muttered to himself.


	15. Regrouped

Will wasted no time in heading for the prison cell after he heard Beckett's deal. He even shoved past a protesting redcoat to reach Elizabeth.

"You can't be here!" the redcoat insisted, marching briskly after him. His path was interrupted by Governor Swann.

"I think you'll find that he can," he corrected.

"Mr. Swann-"

"_Governor _Swann," he corrected yet again. "Why do you think I wear this wig? To keep my head warm?" He waved his arm of. "Please, leave us in peace."

Will knelt by the cell, whispering to Elizabeth. "Beckett wants to make a deal with me," he informed her. "All I have to do is find Jack and persuade him to hand over his compass."

"Jack's compass?" Elizabeth asked. "What does Beckett want with that?"

Will shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'll convince Jack to return to Port Royal and in exchange, the charges against us will be dropped."

"No." Swann shook his head. "If this does not work, we must find a different avenue to secure your freedom."

Will stared at his future father-in-law. "Is that a lack of faith in Jack or in me?"

"The fact that you would risk your life for Sparrow does not mean he would do the same for anybody else," Swann said, departing. "Now, where's that dog with the keys?"

Now that they were alone, Will leaned closer, whispering as quietly as he could. "I also bring a warning to be careful. I overheard one of Beckett's officers telI Beckett something after I left. Most of it was unclear to me, but I caught one small catch: he mentioned a boy with a giant key."

Elizabeth gasped. "Is it-?"

"Keep quiet," Will urged, not taking any chances with any nearby redcoats. "I'm not sure who it is, but if..._he_...is here, there are bound to be Heartless as well. We need to tread carefully." Elizabeth nodded in understanding.

"Where will you go?" she asked.

"Tortuga," Will said with a smile. "I'll start there and I won't stop searching until I find him." Slipping his hands through the bars, he clasped her hand in his. "Then I will return her to marry you."

"Properly?" Elizabeth chuckled.

"Eagerly as ever, if you'll still have me," Will answered.

Elizabeth moved her other hand through the bars and stroked Will's hair. "If it weren't for these bars, I'd have you already." She brought her other hand forward as well, resting both on his shoulders. "I have faith in you."

"Keep a weather eye on the horizon," Will whispered. He left with those final words to his bride as he headed for his destination.

* * *

In Tortuga, it seems almost everybody had heard of Jack Sparrow. It just didn't end up turning out the way Will hoped it to.

"Jack Sparrow?" an elderly man asked. "He owes me quite the bundle. I thought he was dead."

A man standing at the shore, wading in the water, was Will's next source. "He's in Singapore. That's what I heard. You can bet on the tide that Jack Sparrow will turn up in Singapore."

Will eventually resorted to asking a pair of familiar maids in the slums of Tortuga.

"Jack Sparrow!" the blond-haired one declared.

"I haven't seen him in a month!" the red-head informed. "If you find him can you give him a message?" Upon this statement, Will felt each of the two women slap him angrily across the face. Shaking his head clear, Will continued his pursuit, mentally reminding himself to make sure Jack got that particular message.

Finally, he found a credible source, a Jamaican sailor who said he had seen the ship. "I cannot say about Jack Sparrow. However, there is an island south of the straits that I pass much on my trade routes. I can give you passage. You will find a ship there. A ship with black sails."

Will took the opportunity presented to him. The next voyage out took merely an hour before the man pointed the island out to Will, who peered through the telescope at the island. Resting upon the shore was indeed the _Black Pearl_. Now that their consensus was in line, the sailor ordered one of his men to row Will ashore.

They were about a hundred yards off when the sailor ceased rowing. Will squinted in surprise, looking between him and the island. "What's wrong? The beach is right there."

"Cette île est trop dangereuse," the sailor replied, speaking French.

"I'm sorry?" Will said, unable to understand him.

"Il y a des cannibales ici. Je n'irai pas plus loin." Seeing that he would make no progress, Will rose to his feet. "Bon voyage, monsieur." Will jumped into the water and swam towards shore while the sailor. Though it took several minutes, he made it to the shore, wading at the shallows and standing at the base of the ship.

He cupped his hands and called up. "Jack!" He was met with silence. "Jack Sparrow!" Still no answer. "Marty! Cotton!" He ceased yelling. "Anybody?" he said to his surroundings. By now, it was very clear that nobody was aboard the ship. Moving away from the ship and towards the trees, he did spot a blue parrot perched upon a nearby branch. "Ah, a familiar face!"

Cotton's parrot squawked. "AWK! Don't eat me!"

Will raised an eyebrow."I'm not going to eat you."

"Don't eat me!" it said again. Will ignored the bird's ranting and continued on his way. Before too long, he found something tangled within the trees. It was streaked with dirt, but it was too sleek and out of place not to catch attention. Will picked it up. Dangling in his hand was a necklace with a small, silver crown hung at the end of it.

"Sora..." he realized. "He _is _here." He pocketed the silver necklace securely. Gripping the twine, Will noticed it leading onward. He followed the trail, sliding his hand along his path. After a few seconds, he reached the end of it. But he saw nothing unusual or worth mentioning around him. Just more trees.

"RAH!" Will jumped back as a figure that was camoflauged in the bushes leaped out at him, brandishing a spear. The spot Will landed on hid a concealed trap in the form of a rope. Upon stepping on that spot, the rope wound itself around Will's ankle and yanked him upward, making him dangle. Upon being trapped, several other figures, as Will soon realized to be natives of the island, came out. Their dark skin was painted with ceremonial paint and they wore several bits of jewelry that was made of human bones.

Will had no time to freak out at this, as they all were pointing spears, tomahawks, and various other pointy weapons at him. In response, Will pulled out his sword and swung it in a frenzy, batting away other weapons. "Come on! Who wants some?" Though he continued to swing, the natives stared rather curiously at him. "I could do this all day! Is that the best you got?"

Not stalling, a native held up a wooden pipe to his mouth. A quick burst of air from his mouth shot a small dart at Will's neck. As it stuck, Will felt his muscles contract, then loosen up entirely. He dropped his sword as he drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

When he awoke, he found himself among the natives. Bound by his hands and legs to a long pole and hauled by a couple of them, but among them, none the less. As he blinked to clear his vision, he could see a figure before him adorned in face paint and wearing a feathery hat.

Will suddenly recongized the man. "Jack?" His pirate friend stood before him. "Jack Sparrow!" he shouted with a chuckle. "I can honestly say I'm glad to see you."

As if Will was a foreign being to him, Jack began to poke him with a short stick. "Jack?" Will repeated. "It's me! Will Turner! I need your help!" Jack began to speak to the natives in their language, who responded likewise. "Tell them to let me down!" Will urged.

"Kay-lay, lum?" Jack said, gesturing to Will. "Lum peaky-peaky. Lum eensy-weensy." He made a small chopping motion with his hands. "Lum say-say, eunuchy. Snip-snip." The natives nodded, seeming to understand. Jack strode off, a few key instruments dangling from his belt.

Will's eyes quickly singled out the one he sought. "Jack, your compass! That's what I need! Elizabeth is in danger! She faces the gallows if I don't get that compass!"

Jack froze for a moment. Then he shouted another order to the natives, who cheered in response. Bending over, he hastily whispered to Will. "Save me!"

Will was thoroughly confused now, growing even more puzzled as the natives began to cart him off, still tied to the log. "Jack!" he called. "What about Elizabeth?" But he was getting more distant as the natives hauled him to another unknown destination. "Jaaaaaack!"

* * *

Elizabeth was heavily regretting having to stay in this prison as collateral for Will's bargain for their freedom. Especially the crooning prisoners in the next cell, reaching their filthy, mangled hands through the bars, lusting for her. Thankfully, a redcoats approached her cell and opened it up. Standing in the caged doorway was her father.

"Come, quickly!" he urged. Not about to argue with an escape, Elizabeth obeyed. But as she was about to ask, Governor Swann revealed the means of escape. "Our name has some standing with the king, so I've arranged passage to England."

"No!" Elizabeth stopped where she was. "Will's gone to find Jack!"

"We cannot count on William Turner!" Governor Swann said, prodding his daughter to keep moving. She followed briskly, becoming angry.

"He's a better man than you give him credit for," she huffed.

"Please!" Governor Swann cut off. "This isn't a time for innocence! Beckett has offered one full pardon. Only _one_, and that is already promised to Jack Sparrow. So even if Will does succeed, do not ask me to endure the sight of my daughter walking to the gallows. Do not!" He led her out to a carriage awaiting them, just outside the prison. "I'll try to ensure a fair trial for Will if he returns here," he assured, helping his daughter inside.

"A 'fair trial' for Will would end in a hanging," she assumed bitterly.

"Then there is nothing left for you here," Governor Swann finished sadly. He shut the door of the carriage and took a spot on top of it. He picked up the reins and snapped them, bidding that the horses make for their destination quickly.

It was not far from the prison to the docks. Governor Swann quickly dismounted. Standing closeby to the nearest dock was a British officer. "Captain?" There was no answer from the man, who remained still with his back to the governor. "Captain?" he repeated. Upon this, he saw movement. The captain seemed to be tipping back, very slowly.

When he finally collapsed to the ground, Governor Swann gasped. There was no sign of stab or gunshot wound. Instead, the captain's body began to fade from existence. In his place appeared a small, black creature with yellow eyes and short antennae. Then, from out of the natural shadows, Beckett's right-hand man stepped forward to greet him.

"Evening, Governor," Mr. Mercer greeted. He bent over to pick up a small, white object that remained of the captain's body. "It's a shame, really." He unfolded the white piece of paper. "Oh?" He inspected the letter. "A letter to the king?" His eyes scanned to the bottom. "It's from you."

Turning back towards the carriage, Governor Swann watched as several other of the black creatures seemed to crawl up from the ground, surrounding the carriage. "Elizabeth..." he gasped. He rushed for the carriage, ignoring the prying creatures. Mercer, however, waved his hand, commanding the creatures to move aside. He stormed over to the carriage, shoving Governor Swann aside and swinging the carriage door open.

To the surprise of both men, it was empty. Mercer turned his angry gaze to the governor. "Where is she?" He grabbed Governor Swann and slammed him against the carriage. "WHERE IS SHE?"

* * *

Beckett opened up a box inside his office. He held a candle to it, only to see that the letters of marque once contained inside were missing. He heard a small shuffling in the shadows, alerting him to the presence of another. "I have no doubt, Miss Swann, that despite your father's beliefs, you've discovered that loyalty is no longer the currency of the realm."

Elizabeth stepped from the shadows. "Then what is?"

Beckett turned to face her. "The currency of the realm is exactly that: currency."

"Then I suppose we can come to an understanding," Elizabeth decided. "I am here to negotiate."

"I'm listening," Beckett replied. He heard a click, and the next second revealed Elizabeth with a gun pointed directly at his face. "I'm listening _intently_," he added.

Elizabeth held up the bundle of letters she had taken. "These letters of marque are signed by the king?"

"Correct," Beckett confirmed. "However, they are invalid until they bear my signature and seal."

"And I would not be here if that weren't the case," Elizabeth agreed, lowering the gun. "Jack Sparrow's compass will do you no good."

"Please explain," Beckett said, allowing her the floor.

"I have been to the Isle De Muerta." Elizabeth spoke in a grave tone. "I have seen the treasure with my own eyes. There is something you should-" She ceased speaking, for she noticed that Beckett was...chuckling at her.

"I see," Beckett said, finishing his laughter. "You believe that the compass only leads to the Isle De Muerta, and so you come to save me from a terrible fate. Your concern is touching, my dear, but quite unnecessary." He stepped away, moving his hand over a map of the world on his wall. "I do not care for cursed Aztec gold. You'll find there is more than one chest of value in these waters. So perhaps you may wish to enhance your offer?"

Elizabeth clicked the gun again, placing it underneath Beckett's chin. "Consider in those calculations of yours that you stole from me my wedding night." She slammed the letters onto the desk, keeping the gun where it was.

"So I did," Beckett admitted. He took up a pen and drew his signature. "A marriage interrupted." He put aside the pen and picked up a stamp, pressing it into the parchment. "Or fate intervenes?" He shook his head. "I must say, it surprises me that you go to such lengths to ensure Jack Sparrow's freedom."

"These aren't going to Jack!" Elizabeth cried indignantly. She seized the letters and tried to pull them away, but they remained in Beckett's firm grip.

"Oh really?" he said, then corrected himself. "To ensure Mr. Turner's freedom, then. I will still want that compass. Include that in your calculations."

Elizabeth made sure to keep the gun aimed at his head until she was completely out of the room.

* * *

They had been rowing in shifts for about a day, but Steven, Pintel, and Ragetti had finally found a time to be awake all at the same time. While Pintel and Steven each commanded an oar, Ragetti was flipping the pages of a Bible he had found, mesmerized by the message he could see inside. Snapping it shut, he made a conclusion. "I say it was divine providence what escaped us from jail."

"And I say it was the Keyblade that got us out of there," Pintel retorted. "Ain't that right, Stevie?"

Steven removed one hand from the oar, summoning said Keyblade and waving it in triumph. "That's right! Right, doggie?" The scruffy dog from the prison stepped by Steven, yelping softly to signify agreement. Steven scratched the dog behind the ears. "Good boy."

"But wasn't it divine providence that gave you that key in the first place?" Ragetti questioned.

"Even if it did," Pintel argued, "I bet it was just the plain luck of him getting tossed in the same cell with us."

"I don't really care either way," Ragetti decided. "I ain't stealing no ship."

Steven sighed. "Ragetti, this boat was just floating when we found it. I'd call it more of...Uh...that is to say-"

"Salvaging," Pintel finished for him.

"That's the word," Steven agreed. "Besides, you're pirates. Why do you care?"

"Since we ain't immortal no more," Ragetti reminded, pointing at a page fiercely. "We got to take care of our immortal souls!"

Pintel rolled his eyes. "We know you can't read, Ragetti."

Ragetti glared at them both. "It's the Bible! You get credit for trying!"

"Pretending to read the Bible is a _lie_!" Pintel shouted back. "That's a mark against..." He finished his sentence by pointing to the sky.

"Look!" Steven pointed to a nearby shore. "There's a ship!" Ragetti looked forward and Pintel turned around. What they saw delighted them, almost to no boundaries.

"There she is!" Pintel cackled in delight, pushing the oar forward. "Row harder, Steven!"

Steven obliged, though unsure of the sudden excitement. "Why the sudden rush?" he asked.

"That ship," Ragetti began. "is the _Black Pear_l."

"The one you told me about?" Steven asked. "Nice!" At that moment, the dog stepped up to the tip of the boat, hopping into the water and dog-paddling towards the shore. "What's gotten into him?"

"Must've seen a catfish," Pintel decided with a chuckle. Steven also let out a small chuckle. Ragetti sat confused for a moment, then burst out laughing, enhancing the amusement of his companions as well.

"Stupid mongrel!" he shouted to the shore, cackling with delight.

"Actually, I think he's the smart one," Steven said, pointing behind the boat. "Look." Pintel and Ragetti gazed behind them to see a wave building up, moving towards them. Looking back at the shore, they saw the dog shaking his fur free of water.

"ROW!" Pintel cried out, practically windmilling his arms to row the boat away. But alas, it was no good. The wave built up more, catching up with them in no time and tipping the boat over and dumping the three men into the sea.

Fortunately, they were close enough to shore that they could drift a bit closer before beginning to drag their tired bodies onto dry land. Steven shook his hair free of water, then peered up at the ship. "So this is it, huh?"

"That's right!" Pintel laughed wildly. "And it's ours for the taking!"

"Tide's coming in too," Ragetti pointed out. "That'll help us _salvage_ this ship, eh?"

"That's the truth of it!" Pintel agreed.

"Hold on, guys," Steven cautioned. "I think we ought to think this through a little." Before he could continue, the trio heard a heavy pounding sound in the distance, the sound of ceremonial drums. Taking a look at the shore, he saw scattered bones. With a gulp, he spoke again. "Well, I'm glad we took the time to discuss that, but we should really just get the ship ready."

"Agreed," Pintel and Ragetti agreed simultaneously. Pintel rushed for the base of one of the ropes binding the ship to the shore while Ragetti and Steven clambered up two of them to get to the deck.

* * *

In the current situation, Will couldn't take much solace. The native tribe had untied him from the log, but he was soon after stuffed into a circular cage with the crew of the _Black Pearl_. It was not all bad, as his suspicions were confirmed that Sora was indeed here. It was unfortunate, however, that he was trapped in the cage alongside him.

"I must say I'm surprised they managed to subdue you, Sora," Will said.

Sora shot him a glare. "Oh! Hello there, Will! Nice to see you too!" he grumbled sarcastically.

Ingoring this comment, Will spoke to Gibbs. "Why would Jack do this to us? If he's their chief-"

"The Pelegostos did make Jack the chief," Gibbs confirmed. "But he only remains chief as long as he acts like one."

"Then he's just as much a captive as we are," Will concluded.

"Aye," Gibbs replied. "But much worse. The Pelegostos believe Jack is a god in human form, and they plan to do the honor of releasing him from his prison of flesh." Personifying the action, Cotton grabbed Gibbs' hand and bit down on it. Gibbs cursed loudly as he yanked his hand out. "They'll roast him and eat him."

"Is this the entire crew?" Will asked.

"These cages we're in weren't built until _after _we got here," Gibbs groaned. It wasn't until this moment that Will realized the material that the cage was composed of. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable standing inside it. "The feast will begin soon," Gibbs continued, noting the intensified beating of the drums that was audible across the whole island. "Jack's life will end when the drums stop."

Will shook his head clear of his discomfort. "Then we can't just sit and wait here, can we?"

Meanwhile, Jack was booking it across the bridge. He had long ago figured out the plans the Pelegostos had for him and no moment was more opportune to get away than while the fire was being built. The tribe had another camp nearby, so he infiltrated that first. Running inside the tent, he quickly grabbed a large bundle of rope. Before he ran out, a small bundle caught his eye.

He pulled a small, hexagonal container labeled **Paprika**. On the bottom, he saw a triangulated barrier separating a few symbols. The East India Trading Company. Jack made sure to pocket the container before he pushed the tent flap aside.

"Oh bugger." He was now blocked by a large group of natives. "I wasn't running!" he insisted. "I was just...er..." Thinking quickly, he dropped the rope and emptied the paprika into his armpits. "A little seasoning, eh?"

Withing the next few minutes, the tribe had tied him to a log and hung him over the fire pit. "Well done, my children," Jack grumbled.

* * *

In the gorge, the crew had come up with a plan. They tipped their weight in one direction, moving the cage in one direction, then moving to the other end of the cage, pushing it in the opposite direction. After a few repeat processes, the two cages were swinging, with each swing pushing the giant structures closer to the cliff's face.

With one final push, it happened. The occupants of both cages gripped the vines hanging over the cliff. "Put your legs through and start to climb!" Gibbs ordered, to which everybody obliged.

"Come on, men!" Will urged. "It'll take all of us to crew the _Black Pearl_!"

"Actually, you wouldn't need everyone!" a sailor from the other cage called back. "About six would work just fine." After the conversation had ceased, the crew realized that the pounding of the drums had also been silenced. "Ooooh, dear."

Sora looked to Gibbs, who nodded frantically. "Move!" he shouted. But a moment later, he spotted a native on the bridge. "Wait, stop!" he half-whispered, half-yelled. Both cages grinded to a halt as they spotted the native.

The sailor leading the other cage put a finger to his lips as a signal to the others. Then they began to climb again, although a bit more slowly.

"What are you doing?" Will called quietly. "Stop!" But the prisoners of the other cage chuckled quietly as they continued to ascend. But when the leader looked up, he found that the thing his hand held onto was not a vine. The thing he held hissed, further continuing his miscalculations.

"Snake!" he cried out. A huge mistake he had made indeed, for the others in that cage began to panic, releasing their vines in the process, severing their hopes for salvation. It is not the fact that they let go that doomed them, but the fact that when their cage's harness snapped to its full length, the tug was too strong to withstand and the rope snapped. In one swift movement, half of the_Black Pearl_'s crew plummeted to their doom.

The native on the bridge had unfortunately seen everything, immediately rushing to the camp to tell his tribemates. The crew had no way to stay hidden, no longer did they have a reason to. "Hurry!" Will bellowed, sparking the survivors' determination to move faster. With their renewed strength, they made it to the top in no time.

"Cut the rope!" Will bellowed. Sora immediately summoned his Keyblade and used a weak electricity spell to snap the rope in two. Not long after, they soon saw the swarm of cannibals chasing after them. "Roll the cage!" The crew pushed forward on whatever part of the cage they could reach, effectively creating a smooth form of transport for them.

* * *

It wasn't until they reached a sloping hill that they figured out it was a bad idea. They lost control as the bone structure began to bounce down the hill. It took everybody holding onto the cage in order to keep themselves from rolling around on top of each other.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Sora gulped.

Jack counted his blessings that his crew had managed to escape, giving the Pelegostos a distraction from him. He moved his body up and down, taking a dangerous chance with the flames below him. But with one final lift, he brought his body up and away from the fire. He kicked his legs outward, snapping the rope that bound them. His arms, unfortunately, were tied much more securely. So he was stuck with the log tied to his back.

Despite his hinderance, he was able to speed across the bridge without much delay, back to the other camp. When he was sure he was decently isolated, he began to tug at the ropes trying to get them free. During his struggle, he looked up to see a young native boy looking oddly at him, holding two eating utensils. Jack shuffled forward and swiped the knife from his hand. The boy took off after that, allowing Jack a moment to wear away at the rope with the knife.

But before long, he spotted two native women carrying trays of food. With a loud cry, he charged at them with the log pointed forward. The two lazily sidestepped Jack's charge, which continued because of momentum, jarring him to a halt when the log pierced a coconut, one among a pile. Going on a wing, Jack spun around quickly, launching the coconut at one of the women.

One woman held out her hands in front of her face, catching the hairy-shelled food. Lowering the coconut, Jack saw her angry, milk-splattered face. She responded by throwing it back at him. He dodged out of the way, only for the other woman to lob a pineapple in his direction. He batted it away with his barely free arm. The next few moments had them throwing a variety of tropical fruit at him. He avoided some, but others actually were snagged onto the log he was strapped to.

"Stop it!" he yelled. Surprisingly, the natives heeded his command. There was a short pause as the three people in the vicinity, including Jack, observed the giant fruit-kabob tied to Jack's body. With another loud yell, Jack charged forward, though not aiming at the women this time. He implanted the log into the base of the wall, bending it enough to the point where it launched him across the gorge. Despite the weight, Jack managed to attain his balance.

But then one of the fruits on the lower half of the log slid to its tip, followed by the others. Then the upper half began to slide down, coming level with Jack's shoulder. With this shift in weight, he toppled over the cliff. He remained fastened to the log until it wedged it self in between the two cliff faces. The force unfurled Jack from the log, leaving dangling about ten feet below with the rope attached to his ankle. But before too long, the log began to budge, preparing to fall.

"Bugger," Jack cursed, just before the log slipped from its perch, causing Jack to resume his rapid descent. Below him were several wooden bridges constructed by the natives, which he manged to crash through one by one. Interesting enough, this cushioned his descent enough to where he did not completely mangle his body when he landed. Then, by miraculous luck, the log that seemed to be heading right for his face slammed into the ground with a few feet to spare for Jack's safety, as did the cascading amount of fruit.

* * *

The cage rolled down the hill for what was thankfully only a few moments. It's momentum and the slant of the hill carried it about ten feet up the trunk of a tree, then rolled back down to become still at its base.

"Help! Can't breath!" Sora coughed, trying along with the others to untangle himself from the pile of people that had formed in their crash. Once they had figured it out, they looked back to see the natives chasing yet again. "Lift up the cage!" he called.

"C'mon, lads!" Gibbs ordered. "Lift it like a lady's skirt!" Then up the cage went, with every man's legs poking through the bottom. Though they ran vigorously, they were weighed down by the cage and the natives were starting to catch up.

What happened next was both a blessing and a curse. Running away, the crew couldn't see the gorge that lay before them, and so they plummeted downward into a large cavern, full of water. The blessing: the impact broke the cage in two, freeing them. The curse: The natives took a position above them and began to fire arrows.

"This way!" Sora called, diving into the water. As the others submerged themselves, they were extremely relieved to see that the arrows ' contact was diminished by the water, causing them to make no impact against any of them. Luckily, after a moment, a young native was calling to the others, urging them off to another destination.

Sora swam through the water, soon finding a large opening to escape through Through it, he could see the beach, where the _Black Pearl_ awaited them. "We're almost there!" he announced. He was the first to make his way to out of the cavern, quickly followed by the others.

Meanwhile, Pintel, Ragetti, and Steven were busy trying to get the ship ready. "Haul loose the mooring line!" Pintel called up, shaking a rope.

"How do I do that?" Steven called back. "I don't speak 'ship'!"

"Little hairy thief!" Steven turned around to see Ragetti chasing a monkey around the deck. His wooden eye had popped out again and the monkey had snatched it up. "Give it back!" The monkey chewed on it playfully. "No, please!" Ragetti begged. "Don't bite it!"

"Be right back!" Steven called. He approached the monkey slowly. "Hey there, buddy," he said in a friendly voice. Cautious, the monkey stepped back. "What's his name?" Steven asked.

"Cap'n Barbossa used to call him Jack," Ragetti answered.

"Hey, Jack," Steven said, holding out his hand, palm up. "Can you give my buddy here back his eye?" Jack the monkey hesitantly looked between the eye and Steven. "I'll carve you a bigger one," he offered. After another moment of consideration, Jack the monkey tossed Ragetti's eye back to him and clambered up Steven's arm, resting on his shoulder.

Ragetti was so surprised by that action that he didn't bother to put his eye back in for a few seconds. Then he rushed forward to haul loose the mooring line, as Pintel had demanded.

By this point, the crew and Sora had reached the ship. "Excellent!" Gibbs cried. "Half our work is done!"

Pintel fumbled for an explanation. "Er...yeah, we've done it for you!"

Steven leaned over to assist. "Yeah, we knew you'd be back soon, so we-" Then he blinked rapidly, catching sight of his friend. "Sora?"

Sora looked up upon hearing his name. "Steven!" he called. "How'd you get here?"

"Long story!" Steven called back. "Get on board!"

"Aye!" Sora replied, clambering up the side of the ship.

"We don't have Jack!" Will shouted. "I won't leave without him!"

They heard a call in the distance. Will turned to see Jack coming around the corner, to which he smiled happily. However, it was reasonable that this feeling faded when he saw the entire population of Pelegostos chasing after him. "Time to go," he muttered before following the others up to the ship.

Jack dashed across the beach, passing the shaggy dog that barked at the beings who chased him. "Good boy," he uttered before speeding through the water and grabbing onto the side of the ship. And as the Pelegostos cried out in despair for their departing god, Jack gave them a proper farewell. "Alas, my children, this will be a day you'll always remember as the day you almost-" His glorious speech was interrupted as a wave crashed over him, though doing nothing to slacken his grip. "-Captain Jack Sparrow," he finished with much less enthusiasm.

Sora strolled over to Steven, who still had Jack the monkey perched on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay, Steven. What happened?"

"I think the teleporter went faulty on us," Steven answered. "As a result, we ended up in two separate locations. I got landed in a town where some suits arrested me for making fun of their government. Got thrown in with these guys-" he nodded to Pintel, then Ragetti. "-who I then broke out, then we made our way here."

"This guy's your friend?" Pintel asked, pointing at Sora.

"Yeah!" Steven answered immediately, then suddenly remembered the malice the two had for Sora. "But guys, don't worry. We're all on the same side now, aye?"

Pintel nodded, then stepped towards Sora, holding out his hand. "Don't get me wrong. There are hard feelings." Sora wasn't sure whether or not to shake his hand, so Pintel instigated. Sora returned the gesture. "And there will be retribution."

"We'll get some payback, we will," Ragetti chuckled, shaking Sora's other hand.

"Glad we can be friends now," Sora replied, chuckling nervously. _Greaaaat..._ he groaned in his head.

Will, meanwhile, had discovered Steven. "You there-"

"Yeah?" Steven answered. A small flash of surprise showed on his face when he saw Will. "Hey, you're that guy who got arrested in that town. You broke out of jail too? High-five!" He held up his hand. Confused, Will held up his hand as well. He yanked it back after Steven had slapped it. "So where's your girlfriend? Leave her in there? That's cold, man."

"It's not like that," Will began. "It's...a long story. But how did you get here?"

"Got tossed in prison, then broke out," Steven explained briefly.

"Wait a minute!" Will interjected. "Were you the one who destroyed that prison building?"

"I did," Steven confirmed, holding up his hand. "With this handy thing right here." With a flash of light, his Keyblade appeared in his hand, to Will's great surprise.

"You have a Keyblade too?" he gasped.

"Uh-huh!" Steven dismissed the weapon. "So why don't you tell me about-" But Will had already gone. "-your situation," he finished, disappointed. "Oh well. Come on, Jack. I'm going to carve you that eyeball I promised you." Jack the monkey squealed in delight.

Will meanwhile, confronted Jack Sparrow, who had just boarded. "Jack, I need your help. Elizabeth is in danger."

Jack stepped up the stairs towards the ship's wheel. "You really ought to keep an eye on that girl. You should lock her up and save yourself the trouble."

"She _is _locked up!" Will snapped back. "She's in a prison, bound to hang for helping you!"

"Ah, yes!" Jack remembered."Well, you know what they say: one needs to take responsibility for their mistakes."

Having lost his weapon, Will quickly slid the sword of another crew member from its harness and placed it in front of Jack. "I need your compass Jack. I must trade it for her freedom."

Jack paused for a moment, then lifted the blade calmly from in front of him. "Mr. Gibbs? We're going to take a trip upriver."

Gibbs began to falter upon hearing this. "W-would it be a trifling need, nothing important, you know, j-just a passing fancy?"

"No," Jack denied. "A resolute, unyielding need."

"What we need to do is head for Port Royal with all haste!" Will demanded.

"William," Jack said in an assuring tone. "I _will _trade you the compass. But first, I need your help to find _this_." He pulled out the piece of cloth beneath his jacket, unrolling it and showing the two-pronged key displayed to Will.

"You want me to find this?" Will realized.

"No, _you _want you to find this," Jack corrected. "For you see, the finding of this finds you the way of finding and/or locating the methods of detecting a way to save your dolly-belle...what's-her-face. Savvy?"

Will frowned in confusion, then rephrased himself. "This is going to save Elizabeth?"

Jack leaned in to whisper. "How much do you know about Davy Jones?"

"Not much," Will answered.

Jack smiled. "Yes. It's going to save Elizabeth."


	16. Trip To Tortuga

As it turned out, this 'upriver' place that Jack spoke of was a small bayou. Unfortunately, it took a long time to get there, because every time the _Black Pearl _drifted into open water, Jack began to freak out, insisting that they needed to keep to the shallows as often as possible. He himself avoided the question as to why, so when they dropped anchor at the mouth of the bayou, taking a couple of small rowboats there instead. While Jack and a couple other members of the crew took the front, the Keybladers and Will rode in the trailing transport, and asked the question on everybody's mind.

"What is it that's got Jack scared of the open ocean?" Will wondered.

"A great deal of that answer depends on what you believe," GIbbs replied. "And some believe that below the ocean lurks a beast at the beck and call of Davy Jones. They say it's a creature with large tentacles that can suck a man's face off. The creature itself is thought to be large enough to drag an entire ship down into the crushing darkness that is the bottom of the sea: the Kraken."

The story had effectively caught the attention of everyone aboard. Even Jack the monkey whimpered in fright. "Easy buddy," Steven assured, comforting the small animal.

"They say it's breath is so foul that-" Gibbs interrupted himself, shuddering. "I just can't imagine what Jack is dealing with, for if the Kraken finds him, the last thing he'll know in this life is the roar of the Kraken, and the reeking odor of over a thousand corpses, still rotting inside the belly of the beast."

"And the key can save him from that?" Sora asked.

"That's the very question he wants answered," Gibbs said with uncertainty. "This matter is no trifle if he is willing to ask..._her_."

"Her?" Sora repeated. He looked ahead, seeing a small hut built above the water, wondering what kind of woman Jack would seek the guidance of.

The crew tied the boats at a small dock beneath the hut, preparing to follow Jack up the ladder. The captain could see them tensed up, so he waved it off. "There's no need for worries, mates. Tia Dalma and I? We're thick as thieves, her and me." The crew began to relax. "Were," Jack corrected, causing the crew to falter. "Have been...before."

Gibbs nodded. "We'll watch your back."

"I'm more worried about me front," Jack muttered before stepped onto the ladder. "Someone mind the boat."

"Mind the boat," Gibbs said to Will.

Will turned to Sora. "Mind the boat."

Sora prepared to give the order to the next people in line, but Pintel and Ragetti each nudged his shoulder as they pushed past him. "Mind the boat," they said simultaneously. Shrugging it off, Sora looked to Steven. "Mind the boat."

"Mind the boat," Steven relayed to Marty.

Then Marty gave the order to the last crew member left. "Mind the boat."

"AWK! Mind the boat!" Cotton was that unfortunate crew member, and when his parrot flew off, he was the only person left, putting the tedious duty on his shoulders.

Jack led the way inside. Contrast to the murkiness of the swamp, the inside of the hut had a warm glow. Hanging from the ceiling were various jars, mostly containing the remains of creatures. Leaning down on a wooden desk was a woman. Upon hearing the door creak open, she raised her head. She had dark skin, puffy dreadlocked hair, and an enticing, yet grotesque smile. "Jack Sparrow," she cooed, standing up from her seat. "I always knew the wind would blow you back to me one day."

Her attention was diverted when Sora stepped inside. It was not unnoticable either, for she gasped upon his entrance, clutching her chest as if she was suffering a heart attack. "You..." she whispered. "You have a touch of destiny about you: Sora, wielder of the Keyblade." She stepped forward, making direct eye contact with him.

Her attention drastically shifted again when Steven made his way up, causing Jack the monkey to scurry down his back, clinging to Steven's shirt. Tia Dalma rested her hand on shoulder. "As do you, Steven. Darkness touches your destiny _closely_."

Steven gulped in surprise. "How do you know us?"

"More important, do you want to know _me_?" Tia Dalma smiled again, and mixed feelings were spread through Steven. Before she could advance closer, Jack interjected.

"I'm afraid there can be no knowing today. We came for help and not leaving without it." He took Tia's arm and led her back to her desk. "I thought _I_ knew you," he added with a slight pout in his voice.

"Not so well as I had hoped," Tia responded. "Come, sit." The crew and Keybladers obeyd, while Tia herself remained standing. By sheer coincidence, Steven found himself beside Tia again. To his mixed feelings, discomfort and relaxtion, she began lightly stroking his face. "What..._service _might I do you today?" She turned to Jack, but kept her hand where it was. "I demand payment for my work."

"We brought payment," Jack said, gesturing at Steven, who gulped uncertainly.

"Do I have to?" he whined. "I don't even get a say in this?"

"Has to be done, mate," Pintel assured.

"Gotta take one for the team," Ragetti added.

Upon hearing this, Steven let out a sigh of resignment. Intrigued, Tia watched eagerly to see what they meant. Steven's hands trembled momentarily, and he looked up at Tia. She smiled at him, and while disgusting her teeth were, it reassured him. So without another hesitation, Steven reached behind his back to the lower part of his shirt. Tia watched him move, as if in slow motion, growing quickly excited by the prospect of what Steven was doing.

Steven slowly brought his arms back up and Tia's excited eyes calmed a little bit. Jack the monkey had clung to Steven's wrists and Steven brought him onto his lap."Well, this is it, buddy," Steven said with slight regret in his voice. "Here you go, just like I promised." From out of his pocket, he pulled out a smooth, rounded piece of wood. The drawing of an eyeball was neatly inked onto the piece of wood, measuring about twice the size of Ragetti's. Jack the monkey clasped the carved ornament with glee. Then he hopped onto Steven's lap and swung his furry arms lightly around his neck.

This was enough to stifle a gasp from the crew. "Can it be?" Gibbs gasped. "Somebody who actually managed to befriend that monkey."

"Appealing to his better nature is a good step," Steven answered, indicating the eye. "Well, so long, Jack." Sparing a final high-five to his human friend, Jack the monkey scampered up Tia's arm. With a smile, she stroked the monkey's fur lightly, then lowered him to the ground, upon which he retreated to a room in the back.

"The payment is fair," she said.

"We're looking for this," Will said, laying the cloth on the table, showing the key. "And what it goes to."

Tia eyed the cloth for a few moments, then her eyes darted over to Jack. "The compass you got from me cannot help you find this?"

"That may be the case," Jack admitted. "Why?"

"Ahhh," Tia realized with a small smile. "Jack Sparrow does not know what he wants. Or do you, but are loathe to claim it as yours?" Jack responded with a huff, then silence. Satisfied, she spoke. "Your key go to a chest. You seek what is inside the chest, yes?"

"What's in the chest?" Sora asked.

"Gold?" Pintel asked hopefully. "Jewels? Unclaimed properties of a valuable disposition?"

"Nothing bad, I hope?" Ragetti added.

"You all know of Davy Jones, yes?" The group nodded in agreement. "Yes, he was a man of the sea, a great sailor. But then he ran afoul of that which vex all men."

"What vexes all men?" Steven wondered out loud. Suddenly, he felt Tia's touch again, this time brushing her fingers through his hair.

"What, indeed," she whispered tantalizingly.

"The sea," Gibbs declared confidently.

"Sums!" Pintel hissed.

"The dichotomy of good and evil!" Ragetti guessed, earning him a couple of confused stares.

Sora shook his head. _None of these are it_, he decided. _But what is?_

_This is a tough question_, Steven said in his mind. _Ragetti's guess is the best, but I don't think that vexes ALL men_.

Jack rolled his eyes at their lack of sense. "A woman!" Upon this comment, there was a murmur of concensus throughout the group.

"A woman," Tia confirmed. "He fell in love."

"Wait a moment," Gibbs said. "I heard it was the _sea _he fell in love with."

"Same story, different versions, and all of them are true!" Tia fired back, startling Gibbs with her quick responses. "It was a woman, as changing, harsh, and untameable as the sea itself. But even though he never stop loving her, the pain she caused him was too much to live with. However, it was not enough to cause him to die."

"But what exactly did he put in the chest?" Will asked.

Smiling, Tia placed her hand over his chest. "Him heart."

"Literally?" Ragetti checked. "That ain't possible, is it?"

"Of course it ain't!" Pintel cried in uproar. "He couldn't literally put his heart into a chest!" But as he looked at Tia, he seemed less certain. "Could he?"

Tia nodded. "To him, it wasn't worth feeling the small joys against all the pain. So, he carved out his heart, locked it in a chest, and hid the chest from all the world. And the key: he keep it with him at all times."

Will stood abruptly and faced Jack. "You knew this, didn't you?" he growled.

"I did not," Jack retorted. "I didn't know where the key was. But we do now. All that's left is to climb aboard the _Flying Dutchman_, grab the key, and go off to Port Royal and save your bonnie lass, eh?" He started making his way out the door. "Always a pleasure, Tia Dalma!"

"Let me see your hand!" Tia demanded. Jack presented his right hand to her without hesitation, but she shot a glare at him. Reluctantly, he put his left hand forward, which everyone now noticed was wrapped in cloth. Tia unwrapped it to reveal not an injury, but a moving black mark embedded in his palm.

"The black spot!" Gibbs gasped. He spun around, brushing himself off. Shrugging, Pintel and Ragetti followed suit.

"My eyesight's as good as ever," Jack informed. "Just so you know."

"Wait a moment," Tia said, departing to the back room. She returned a moment later, carrying a large jar in her hands. "Davy Jones can only set foot on land once every ten years. You are safe on land, Jack Sparrow, so you will carry the land with you."

She placed the jar in Jack's hands. He curiously identified its contents. "Dirt," he said. "This is a jar of dirt."

Tia nodded. "Yes."

Jack rotated it slowly in his hands. "Is the jar of dirt going to help me?"

Tia narrowed her eyes. "If you don't want it, give it back."

"No!" Jack pulled the jar away, clutching it closely, suddenly possessive of the container.

Tia smiled in response. "Then it helps."

Accepting the circumstances, Will took a seat again. "It seems that we have a need to find the _Flying Dutchman_."

Nodding, Tia took a bundle of what appeared to be shells in her hands, breathing into them. "A touch...of destiny!" She spread them out onto the table, pinpointing the next destination for them.

* * *

The destination, unfortunately, took their course through driving rain and cold weather. Even more unlucky, the ship laying before them in the ocean was split in two. Will called over to Jack in disbelief. "That's the _Flying Dutchman_?" Jack nodded. "She doesn't look like much!"

"Neither do you," Jack retorted. "Do not underestimate her. Now, let's go over the plan one more time, shall we?"

"We get it!" Steven stepped forward. He had no coat, rendering his entire body soaked and freezing from the rain. "We search the ship until we find the key and kill anything that moves. Can we please hurry up? I am very cold!"

"By all means, carry on," Jack allowed, gesturing to the longboat hanging over the side of the ship. "And if you happen to get captured, tell them that Jack Sparrow sent you to settle his debt. It might save your life!"

Will climbed into the boat first, soon to be followed by Steven, who paused to speak to Sora. "You sure you don't want to come with us?" he double-checked.

"We should probably stay split up," Sora reasoned. "If Davy Jones decides to send trouble our way, I'll be here to do some damage to them."

Steven nodded in understanding. "Best of luck!" he wished before joining Will in the boat.

"You too!" Sora said, shaking his friend's hand before lowering their vessel into the water.

"So long, Stevie!" Ragetti called, helping Sora with the ropes.

"Stay strong, mate!" Pintel added before he and Ragetti departed. Once the task was finished, Sora rested his hands on the rail.

"Jack, if this doesn't work, I hope you have a backup plan!"

"No worries, Sora!" Jack checked the make sure Sora was occupied, then whispered to Gibbs. "Douse the lamps." Upon that command, the crew began to put the lights out on the ship, one by one, until the passengers of the longboat could no longer see it through the dark and rain.

Tying it down at the severed area, Will stepped out of the boat, holding up an enclosed lantern in his left hand. Steven followed. "Even if we find Jones, I don't think he'll be willing to part with his key that easily."

"Any opponent will crumble from violence," Will pointed out. "Cutting his heart out doesn't spare him physical pain, after all."

Steven chuckled. "I like your style." He followed Will's example and began to search one end of the ship. He traversed it with little difficulty despite the slanting. There was little to find on the side of the ship. But he did find a small axe, which he lifted to examine. Cautiously sniffing it, he shrank back at how strong the smell was. _Did they dunk this in an aquarium or something? _he wondered.

Will, meanwhile, was making slightly better progress. He found a sailor pulling at some ropes, muttering various ship commands and mentioning captain's orders. "Sailor." Will failed to catch his attention. "Sailor! Stop strugglining. You've run aground!"

"No!" the sailor protested, shivering in what Will realized was fear, not the rain. "Beneath us!" He shuddered violently. "Foul breath..."

Steven heard a loud thud behind him, and he saw that a body had landed in the crevasse of the destroyed ship. He stepped down to it and turned the fallen man over. "Whoa!" He jumped back in shock, for he saw a pale surface without any features rather than the frightened gaze of a man. "Will! This guy has no face!" Then Steven noticed a small ring circling the face, as if something had pressed into it and...sucked it off.

Will reached the body and witnessed the body as well. Then from behind them, a cascade of water was lifted into the air, dispersing all around the area where it had come up. In that location, a large structure was being drained of water through every possible area. Holes on the side of it appeared to be for cannons, and they were heavily evacuating water. The entire thing looked like some kind of monster, with the foremost part being carved in the shape of a long mouth, a long row of teeth accompanying it.

Steven and Will rushed forward and to eye the approaching behemoth. "That's either the _Flying Dutchman_," Steven began, "or the biggest crocodile I've ever seen in my life. Either way, I think we're in trouble."

He couldn't know how right he was, because from around them, they started to hear movement. To immense surprise, several beings seemed to come into existence from being part of the broken ship. To further surprise, these beings did not look human at all. They walked like humans, but their bodies were composed of seaweed, scales, shells, and tentacles rather than arms and legs. These fish-sailors began rounding up the incapacitated men aboard the ship.

In the confusion, Steven and Will were separated. One of the fish-sailors started for Will, holding a couple of small cannonballs attached to chains. "Down to your marrowbones and pray!" he shouted. He swung his weapon at Will's legs. Will grabbed onto a rope and used it to lift himself out of reach, then swung his feet around to kick the sailor aside. He pulled his sword, immediately required to defend himself against more assaults.

A sailor composed head-to-toe of coral stepped towards Steven. "It's stupid for you to think of fighting, kid!" he said, giving Steven a chance to surrender.

Steven literally laughed in his face. "Sorry, but I never really had the best judgement!" With another laugh, he summoned his Keyblade and swatted the sword that came his way aside before kicking the coral-man, sending him stumbling into the water. Two more sea-men charged for him simultaneously, so Steven dropped and swung his Keyblade horizontally, crashing them into the deck. "Thunder!" He gave the two sailors an electric charge for extra measures. They kept sparking for a few seconds, the water covering their bodies conducting electricity.

By now, Will and Steven had come back-to-back with each other. "Forget what I said!" Steven shouted. "This won't be a problem!" He zapped another sea-man to make his point.

"I can't do that," Will pointed out. Looking around, he spotted a barrel next to the mast where he had hung his lantern. "That could work." He plunged his sword into the barrel, then smashed the lantern with the blade. The fire inside took a hinge to the oil from the barrel, literally setting Will's sword on fire. "Get back!" he bellowed, waving the sword at the others. The heat of the fire caused the creatures to shrink back from them.

"Nice!" Steven complimented. He used a slightly different technique, firing a ball of fire at their feet to keep them away. Then Will made an offensive strike, piercing his flaming sword into the torso of one of their adversaries. He was not expecting a pile of fish to spill out of the sea-man he had sliced into. Clearly, neither was Steven, for as they looked back and forth between the fish and the sea-man howling in agony, not noticing as they were each clubbed in the head from behind, knocking them unconscious.

Will's sword was kicked from his grasp and slid into the water. Steven's Keyblade vanished before they repeated the process, raising curiosity among the crew for a moment. Waving it off, the sailors dragged tonight's catch back to the ship.

* * *

Steven and Will awoke on their knees, lined up next to the other sailors who had been aboard the broken ship when they arrived. Some were praying for their lives, all were freezing, but Steven and Will remained as still as possible.

"That probably could've gone better," Steven muttered.

"Quiet!" one of the sailors barked. He had a hammer-head shark's head in place of his own. "The captain will soon be here for your judgement." As he had spoken, they heard a thumping noise. Looking up, they could see a figure approaching. The hammer-head appraoched him. "Six are still alive. The others have moved on."

The figure continued forward. Sparing a look up at his face, the prisoners could see his features. He had two legs in the form of crab appendages. His right hand was a crab claw while his left was a tentacle. His head was the slimy formation of an octopus, complete with tentacles where a beard would be. There was no doubt in any of their minds that this was Davy Jones.

The captain lowered himself, before a particularly trembling sailor. He pulled out a pipe and a match. Striking the match, he illuminated himself as he lit the pipe. Taking a drag on hit, he began to speak. "Do you fear death?" he whispered. "Do you fear that dark abyss? The place where your deeds are laid bare, and your sins are punished?" The sailor nodded repeatedly, shivering. "I can offer you an escape."

"Don't listen to him!" Jone spun to his left, causing one sailor avert his eyes. To Jones' dipsleasure, a cross and rosary beads were clutched in the man's shaking fingers. He fiercely stormed over and clamped his claw around the man's neck.

"You've got a daring tongue, sailor," Jones observed. "Do you not fear death?"

The man stared with wide eyes, facing Jones with defiance. "I'll take my chances, sir."

Jones shrugged and released him, then turned to a crew member. "To the depths." The crew around them began to laugh sadistically. Steven and Will looked over just in time to see a knife being pressed against the sailor's throat. They turned away quickly, barely avoiding having to witness the man being slaughtered in front of everyone, before they tossed his body overboard like trash.

Will was momentarily in shock, but Steven was not about to stay silent. "What the heck is your problem?" he demanded. Jones' head whirled to face him. He took his pipe out of his mouth and dumped out the ash that had accumulated inside.

"Life is cruel," he stated bluntly, putting his pipe away. "Why should the afterlife be any different?" He spoke again to the sailor he had first addressed. "Is it really cruel to offer a posteponement for your final judgement? All I ask in exchange is one hundred years before the mast. All I ask is that you join my crew." He leaned in closer. "Will ye serve?"

The man barely hesitated before nodding. "I-I will serve," he shivered.

"There we are!" Jones declared, satisfied. Then he turned his attention back to Steven. "What's this?" he wondered, his eyes darting between Will and Steven. "The two of you are neither dead nor dying. What is your purpose here?"

The pair exchanged a look between each other before deciding upon their actions. "Jack Sparrow sent us to settle his debt," Steven replied.

Jones' eyes widened in surprise. He leaned closer, causing them to cringe back from the tentacles hanging from his face. "What is your purpose here?" he repeated.

Will nodded. "Jack Sparrow. He sent us to settle his debt."

Upon letting the answer settle in, Jones let out a laugh. "Did he now? And it just so happens that I'm tempted to accept that offer!"

Jack could hardly believe what had happened. One moment his plan was going perfectly, and the next he could swear that Davy Jones himself was looking across the sea and directly at him. But it was much worse, for Jack saw Jones standing right in front of him when he lowered the telescope he was looking through.

As Sora had predicted, trouble had been brought their way. He almost immediately summoned his Keyblade, but was forced to drop it when four sailors approached him from behind, taking a firm hold on both of his arms. But as he struggled in their grip, he saw that they were more fish than human.

Similar sailors had swarmed the deck of the _Black Pearl_, every single sailor on board had been taken hostage, Jack was face-to-face with Jones, coming with the promise of impending collection or doom, and all he could say was a single syllable. "Oh."

"You have a debt to pay," Jones said gravely. He stepped towards Jack. "You have been captain of the _Black Pearl_ for thirteen years! That was the agreement, was it not?"

"Well, it was," Jack agreed. "But you've neglected the fine print. See, I was only captain for two years before being viciously mutinied upon."

"A captain none the less, no matter how poor!" Jones rejected. "Has it not been you who has introduced yourself all these years as _Captain_ Jack Sparrow?"

Jack cursed mentally while Jones' crew sounded off with laugther. "But you have my payment. There are two souls over there on your ship right now."

"What?" Sora shouted. He tried to run at Jack, but the ones holding him back tightened their grip. Sora glared angrily at them, then turned his vicious gaze towards Jack.

"One soul is not equal to another!" Jones informed. "That goes for two as well!"

"Ah! So you like the principle of my proposal!" Jack realized. "Now all that's left is to negotiate a price."

Jones clicked his tongue in curiosity. "Price?"

"Tell me," Jack asked. "How many souls will be equal to the value of mine?"

With a smile on his slimy face, Jones leaned forward. "One-hundred souls. Three days."

Jack nodded. "You're a diamond, mate! Now how about you send me back the boys so we can get started, shall we?" He turned away, only to find his path blocked by a couple of the sailors.

"I think I'll keep those two as a faith payment," Jones decided. "Look on the bright side: only ninety-eight more to go." Another laugh erupted from the rest of the crew. Jack, meanwhile, cursed mentally again. Worth a shot.

"But have you not met Will Turner?" Jack wondered. "A model, that one is. Noble, heroic, and a stunning soprano. That makes him worth at least four." Being fairer, he corrected himself. "Maybe three and a half. The kid's worth about the same. Something special about that one. And did I mention that dear William is in love?" The mention of that word caused Jones to stand erect, staring off into the distance, frozen. "With a girl. Due to be married, betrothed, joined forever in the holiest of bonds, but prepared to sacrifice the pursuit of adventure for that. Keeping them apart would only be half as cruel as actually allowing them to form that sacrificial bond. Eh?"

Jones lip twitched momentarily. He took one look at Jack, then turned away with a huff. "I will keep them both. Ninety-eight souls left." He faced Jack again. "But I wonder Sparrow, can you live with this? Will you condemn an innocent man, and a child, to a lifetime of servitude in your name while you roam free?"

Sora looked at Jack in shock. _This is it_, he realized. _Only the most unsympathetic people of all time would ever agree to this._

"Yep!" Jack declared with a smile. "I'm good with it. Seal it in bloo-...er...ink?"

Sora's eyes widened, and he let out a sigh. _Of course_, he lamented. _I'm dealing with pirates._

Jones used the tentacle that took the place of his right hand to spread his slime all over Jack's left hand. "Three days," he whispered ominously. Slowly, his crew started to release the captives it held and almost as quickly as they had arrived, they had vanished into the night.

The one amount of solace that filled Jack was that he watched his left hand slowly taking its proper color once again. Jones had lifted the black spot, and with it the threat of being attacked by the leviathan under his control. The slimy feeling, however, was still unnerving. "Gentlemen," he spoke. "I feel sullied and unusual."

"I hope you're also feeling ready for a pounding!" Sora marched over to Jack. "How could you do that to Will and Steven? They didn't do anything to deserve that!"

Jack, being a pirate, was easily able to counter the situation. "Sora, mate, you really should not worry. Your friend Stevie has escaped from prison before, aye?" Breathing heavily with contempt, Sora nodded to confirm it. "Even if _he_ doesn't have what it takes, William is quite the crafty whelp." He moved his hand up and down, trying to upset the slime from it. "And if push comes to shove, I no longer have the black spot, so we could fight for their freedom if we meet up with the _Dutchman_."

"What are you saying?" Sora asked, wondering what was going on in that pirate brain.

"Jones sees ninety-eight souls, ninety-eight crewmen for his ship," Jack explained. "But what do you see?"

Sora pondered the question for a moment. "Ninety-eight people?"

"Ninety-eight sailors to rally against him," Jack corrected. "Fortunately, Jones held his tongue about how I was required to obtain these souls."

"Where will we go to find them?" Sora asked.

With a smile, Jack pressed his hand against Sora's clothes, whiping off the slimy substance. "Tortuga."

* * *

A trade ship sailed in the night. They had been stuck in a rut for business opportunities, nearly every port starting to build up taxes just to be visited. What's more, his crew had found a yellow laced dress, and had an uproar of superstitious nonsense. The captain had immediately dismissed the affair as a female stowaway, and so the men were searching for her in their spare time.

Thankfully, some of the crew had started to to come to their senses, and were now discussing financial options with the captain.

"I assure you," a plump, bald sailor said to the captain. "With all these taxes, we'll never yield a profit anywhere except the port at Tortuga."

"Absolutely not!" the captain bellowed, slamming papers on his desk. "Tortuga is a pirate's port. I'm an honest sailor, and honesty is how I'll make my living!" After a moment, he found his sailors' eyes sweeping back and forth, as if staring at some moving object. Looking outside his window, he stared intently for a few seconds. The captain leapt back in shock. The dress that was guessed to embody a the spirit of a woman lost at sea was fluttering outside his window. Immediately, they entire crew was eagerly on deck.

Above them and out of sight, Elizabeth wore an obvious smile on her face. She had marveled at the fact that dressing in male sailor clothing and putting her hair up inside a hat had fooled the other sailors into thinking she was a man, but now they were following the dress that she manipulated with strings and a few pieces of wood as if a woman were floating before the desperate men.

Satisfied with her progress, she made a fluid motion with the dress, making it soar over the heads of the sailors. While they were ducking, she took the opportunity to force the dress into a lantern, pushing it out onto the deck. "Over there!" a sailor declared, following the dress along with his crew. "Look for a sign!"

Elizabeth allowed the dress to hang there ominously for the men to stare at with anticipation. Securing the wood, she quickly and quiety clambered down from her perch. She overlooked the spot where she had poured oil. The lantern, as planned, had crashed at the base of one of the oil spots and caught the surrounding area on fire. "Everyone have a look at this!" she called, her voice passable for that of a young man. The crew heeded her wood, and their eyes all grew wide. The trail of oil had burned completely, now emitting a powerful glow in the form of burning letters: TORTUGA.

* * *

Tortuga, as it turned out, was completely a pirate port. Everywhere there were a number of pirates that were running around, drinking, shooting each other, and a number of women.

"You've got to be kidding me." Sora gestured to everything around him. "We're coming _here _to find a crew?"

"No better place," Jack assured cheerfully. "Everyone here who is actually fit to be a sailor is capable, somewhat obedient, and almost as crazy as me."

"And the rest of them?" Sora asked, giving Jack a glare that indicated that he already had an idea of what Jack's answer would be.

"Well, I'll admit, I'm not on friendly terms with all frequent passers here," Jack revealed. At that moment, a woman with red curly hair strode up to him. "Scarlet!" he called, but was met with a slap to the face. "I'm not completely sure I deserved that," Jack mumbled, shaking his face free of pain. Looking ahead, he was greeted by another woman, this one with blond hair. "Giselle?" Another slap was delivered upon the same cheek. "I probably did deserve that one."

"Look, Jack." Sora stepped forward, staring his pirate friend in the eyes. "You're putting my friend at risk by leaving him aboard the _Dutchman_, and if you end up being wrong, if this plan ends up going wrong, I'm going to make you pay."

"Ever think you worry too much, mate?" Jack presented. "Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"

"Every reason," Sora insisted. "You're a pirate."

"And I commend you greatly for accepting that truth," Jack said, pulling out his compass and opening it up. "But Mr. Gibbs is already at work enlisting new crew members." Jack pointed out a tavern, opening it up to show more chaos, with Gibbs sitting comfortably behind a small table with a piece of paper laid out before him. "Mr. Gibbs? How many so far?"

"I just enlisted four men," Gibbs announced. "So in total that gives us-" He interrupted himself to read the list. "Four."

"Bugger," Jack said, proceeding to sit behind a plant nearby. Unbeknownst to him, the fifth applicant that walked to Gibbs had something in store.

"And what's your story?" Gibbs said to the applicant.

"I think you're quite familiar with my story," the man spoke, his voice dark and menacing. "It follows your story, trailing only by a single chapter. Chasing a crew of pirates across the seven seas, but only rewarded with the loss of my crew, my commission, and my life." He roughly grabbed the bottle of rum that rested on the table and took a drink of it.

Only upon looking up at the disheveled face of the man did Gibbs manage to make a connection. "Commodore Norrington?" he gasped.

"I no longer have my commision," he snapped. "Were you not listening just a moment ago? I almost had you at Tripoli. If it weren't for that hurricane..." He growled, taking another drink of rum.

"Good lord, man!" Gibbs cried in shock. "Tell me you didn't try sailing through it!"

"Instead of that, why don't you answer this?" Norrington leaned closer. "Do I make your crew or not?" When Gibbs avoided the question, he continued to speak. "By the way, you haven't mentioned where you're going. I hope it's somewhere nice!" That phrase launched him into an uproar as he pushed the table over, knocking Gibbs to the ground.

"So am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow?" Norrington ranted to everybody in the room. The clicking noise of a pistol was heard when he pulled one out, aiming it at the potted plant sitting behind Gibbs. "Or perhaps I should simply kill you now?"

Sora was not far from Jack. The gun pointing made him a bit nervous, so he shuffled to the side, avoiding Norrington's focus as he looked for a safe area to summon his Keyblade. Jack, meanwhile, moved his head to various areas, only to have his every move followed by Norrington's gun. Shrugging it off, he set the plant down. "You're hired!"

"My apologies, Jack," Norrington replied with a smile. "Old habits and all that."

Sora knew it was now or never. "Stop!" he yelled, summoning his Keyblade. Norrington's gaze averted to Sora, who took that moment to chuck his Keyblade at him. It knocked Norrington back and lifted his arm. He involuntarily pulled on the trigger and the gun fired a bullet into the chandelier. This caused a piece to break away and land at the bar, shattering the glass of another man. When another person next to him laughed at the misfortune, he received a punch to the face, which sparked the beginnings of an all-out brawl. A few men with instruments played a happy tune along with the fight. This somehow managed to grant them an automatic safeguard from being involved with the fight.

Sora's eyes widened nervously at the riot he had caused by attacking Norrington. Dismissing his Keyblade, he shuffled over to Gibbs and Jack. "I think we should leave!"

"Aye!" both pirates agreed. They all made their way cautiously through the crowd of fighting drunks. Whenever one got too close, Sora brought his Keyblade out and whacked the person until he went away. Nearly everybody here would be too intoxicated to remember seeing anything today, so he had little worry about drawing attention to himself.

"Jack!" Sora scolded. "We don't have time for that!"

Jack huffed, dropping discarded hats that he had been trying on and followed Sora out of the tavern. As they left, another sailor became involved in the fray of bottle-throwing and sword-clashing. She was a woman, unrecognizable beneath her attired and bunched up hair. She watched as Norrington stumbled around, fighting anybody who came near him and drinking rum in between duels.

"Come on!" he bellowed. "Form an orderly line and I'll get you all, one by one! Who wants a piece of me?" With a sigh of regret accompanied with a hint of annoyance, the woman grabbed the bottle in his hand and smashed it over his head, knocking him to the ground. The sailors that had formed a crowd to teach Norrington his place turned confused gazes towards the woman, still unaware that she was, in fact, a woman.

"I...er...I've just always wanted to do that!" the woman explained in as masculine a voice as she could manage. A cheer from the crowd told her that it had worked. However, two members of the crowd proceeded to lift Norrington's dazed, but not unconscious body towards a bit of mud, tossing him in with the pigs.

As the crowd walked away cheering, the woman stepped down into the pit to help the man up. As they man's vision cleared, he recognized her face at close range. "Elizabeth!" he gasped quietly.

Elizabeth looked over the man sitting in the mud. He had fallen so far from where he once was, a respected officer for England, now a degenerate drunk man picking fights in a port for the type of people he had hated for years. "James Norrington." She shook her head regrettably. "The world has done terrible things to you."

* * *

The angry tune of an organ could be heard as the crew of the _Flying Dutchman_ was hard at work. From three different locations, ropes were being pulled to raise a cannon. The reason for doing this is a shrouded mystery, but it was the captain's orders, after all.

Steven and Will were pulling on the same rope. If they didn't have so many men on each rope, this task would probably rip their arms out of their sockets.

"You know, pouring rain aside, this is a pretty good workout!" Steven shouted over the barking orders of a sailor resembling a bosun. He moved his hands up the rope and made another tug.

"How can you stay so cheerful?" Will yelled back. "Jack sold us out!"

"Try think about what you want to do to Jack when we get out of here!" Steven recommended. "The only idea I have so far is hot coals, but we'll see what that develops into." Amidst their discussion, they almost lost their grip on the rope when the fourth rope, one that was tied down to save some of the crew unnecessary labor, was starting to come loose.

"Secure the mast tackle, Mister Turner!" the bosun ordered. Will released one securing line and the others on it had to take a firmer grip as he rushed over to the loosening rope.

Steven watched as he ran over, waiting for Will to fulfill the order. But as he did, he spotted another man heading towards the exact same location, preparing to tie down the exact same rope. "Oh dear." Steven shook his head in pity. "Turner. It's a common last name." _Could be weirder_, he thought. _Wouldn't it be crazy if they were related?_

Will noticed another sailor reaching the rope at the same time. "Sailor, please desist!"

"Step off!" the sea-man grumbled in response.

"I have this under control!" Will insisted, tugging the rope.

"Let go, boy!" But as the man tried to yank the rope from Will's grasp, lightning flashed in the sky, it illuminated their faces, and one man stared at the other in shock. The sailor saw himself in this man's appearance, which could mean only one thing.

"No...not you too!" In his state of anguish, he let go of the rope. Will had held onto it and was caught unprepared as the weight of the cannon pulled him away from the area and causing the . As a result, the cannon dropped to the deck, upsetting the balance of most of the sailors and sending them crashing to various areas of the wooden surface.

The bosun cursed under his breath after witnessing this event. He pointed at Will. "Haul that weevil to his feet!" The next second, Will felt himself lifted and held against the mast by two crew members.

Steven recovered from his fall just in time to see the bosun coming to the deck. He gulped nervously when he saw a curled-up whip in his hand. "That doesn't leave much to he imagination."

"Five lashes will remind you to stay on 'em!" The bosun raised his arm and the whip unfurled. But the man who had accidentally let go of the rope stepped forward and grasped the bosun's arm. "Impeding me in my duty?" The bosun cackled in pleasure. "You'll share the punishment, then!"

"I'll take it all!" the violator declared.

"Will ya, now?" The crew's eyes were brought to the other side of the ship. The captain was on deck. "And what, I wonder, would bring about a gracious act of charity like this?"

The man's lips moved silently for a few seconds, then uttered a phrase. "My son." He turned away from the captain to face the man being forced against the mast for punishment. "He's my son."

Will turned his head swiftly. _Bootstrap Bill Turner?_ he realized in his head. _My father?_ Jones' gaze passed between the two before a laugh escaped him. "Well, what fortuitous circumstances be this?" He took the whip from the bosun and held it before Boostrap. "Five lashes owed, I recall?"

Bootstrap's eyes widened at the order presented to him. "I won't do it!" he defied.

Jones did not back down. "The cat's been let out of the bag, Mister Turner! He will feel the sting of the whip by either the bosun's hand or yours. Make the choice!"

"No," Bootstrap repeated.

"Bosun!" Jones called.

"No!" Bootstrap snatched the whip from Jones. The bosun would enjoy dealing the punishment, would make every strike count. It would be an act of mercy and compassion if he were the one delivering the punishment. So he raised his arm after Will's shirt was torn in back, revealing his flesh. With a long, slow, regretful swing, he brought the whip into his son's back. It cracked loudly as it dug into his flesh.

Steven watched in shock as Will was being whipped by his own father. But not the actual whipping. That was too horrible for him to keep his eyes on. His eyes darted to Jones, who had ordered the event take place. Steven took a moment to wonder what kind of cruel being would ever force something like that. He clenched his right fist in anger. Feeling it tremble, he looked down on it.

He stumbled back in shock. His right hand was radiating dark energy. His breathing quickened as he shook his hand wildly, like he was trying to shake off seaweed attached to his hand, which wouldn't be unnatural in this current environment. _Not again! _he thought frantically. He took several breaths to calm himself. As he hoped, the darkness started fading and they rose into the sky in whisps. He sighed in relief as they vanished, then looked at his hands again. _What's happening to me?_

He tried to push all thoughts of that aside, because Will's punishment had ended. The crew tossed him down to the lower deck of the ship, laughing in pleasure. "You had it easy, boy!" one of the taunted. Steven rushed to Will, wincing upon catching sight. The whipping had left five criss-crossing wounds. Before he could move further, Bootstrap was at Will's side.

"William..." He reached out to help up his son, but Will suddenly rose to his feet and stormed away.

"I don't need your help!" he snapped, leaning against the rail of the ship for support.

"The bosun prides himself on cleaving flesh from bone with each strike," Bootstrap pleaded. "It would've been death for you if I had allowed it to be him."

"So you're trying to tell your own son that whipping him was an act of compassion?" Steven cried incredulously as he walked up.

"Yes," Bootstrap answered, leading them below deck. "It's the least bit of mercy that can be offered aboard this ship. We're all doomed to serve one hundred years. We're constantly losing ourselves, bit by bit." He stopped before a spot in the wall, pointing up at a face that appeared to be embedded in it. "Eventually, we end up like poor Wyvern: part of the ship."

"I don't see why anybody would agree to this," Steven wondered.

"Well now that you have, it's too late," Bootstrap revealed. "Once an oath is sworn to the _Dutchman_, you can't leave it."

"But we swore no oath," Will said. "We are not tied to the _Dutchman_ like you."

Bootstrap whirled his head towards the two. "Are you sure?" They both nodded. "Then I insist that you get out of here at once."

"I can't," Will declined. He unfurled a piece of cloth before his father. "We need this first."

At that moment, they heard a rough crackling noise. The being known as Wyvern had awoken, breaking off slightly from the wall to gaze at the cloth. "The Dead Man's Chest," he whispered in surprise.

"What do you know of this?" Will asked, holding up the cloth.

"Open the chest with the key, and stab the heart," Wyvern commanded. "Wait, no! You must not stab the heart! If the _Dutchman_ has no living heart, there will be no captain. And there must always be a captain to have the key."

"The captain has the key," Steven replied. "Just like Tia Dalma said."

"Where is the key?" Will inquired.

"Hidden." Wyvern pulled back a little bit, prepared to re-assimilate with the wall.

"Where is the chest?"

"Hidden." These were the last words of Wyvern, as he once again became part of the ship.

* * *

Needless to say, Sora was surprised when one second he was following Jack, and the next he had been pulled behind a box by somebody, whose hand clasped quickly over his mouth.

"Sora?"

The person in question turned to see another person dressed in sailor's attire. "That's me." He looked over the sailor curiously. "Uh...have we met?"

"It's me!"

"I'm sorry," Sora apologized. "But I don't think that we've ever-" His sentence was cut off as the sailor removed the hat and allowed a bundle of hair dropped behind their shoulders. He rubbed his eyes out to rule out the possibility that it was an illusion. "Elizabeth?" His friend nodded. "What the...how did you get here? I thought you were being held in prison."

"By a man named Cutler Beckett," Elizabeth confirmed. "But I managed to...negotiate my way out."

Taking the hint, Sora didn't question her further on the subject. "Then let's go!" Elizabeth followed him, putting her hair back up and replacing her hat.

"Captain Sparrow!" Sora called. "I found someone who wants to join the crew."

Jack spotted Sora first, then Elizabeth, though still unaware of her identity. "Welcome aboard the _Black Pearl_, lad!"

"Actually, I'm here to find the man I love," Elizabeth corrected.

Jack backed away from her nervously. "I'm deeply flattered, boy, but my first and only love is the sea."

"His name is William Turner," Elizabeth finished curtly.

Jack's eyes widened, suddenly recognizing her. "Elizabeth. Hide the rum," he whispered to Gibbs quickly. "You know, my dear, these clothes don't flatter you at all. I think you should go with either a dress or nothing at all. I myself don't have a dress, but I'm sure I can ask around for-"

"Jack!" Elizabeth interrupted. "Get to the point. I know Will came to find you. Now where is he?"

Jack sighed with hesitation. Quickly devising an explanation in his head, he spoke. "My dear lass, due to an unfortunate and unpredictable series of circumstances not involving me in any way, shape or form: poor William and Sora's friend Steven have been pressed into service in Davy Jones' crew."

Elizabeth's face instantly was stretched in shock. "Davy Jones?" Sora's was as well, but for a different reason. _She believed that?_ Sora cried in his head.

They heard a sick noise to their right, and looked over to see a rather sick Norrington leaning over the side of the dock, vomiting. "Oh please," he scoffed as he rose. His face was rather green. "You don't mean the captain of the _Flying Dutchman_, do you?"

"You look bloody awful," Jack observed. "Why are you even here?"

"You hired me," Norrington grumbled. "It's not my fault your standards are so embarrassingly low."

"Oh yeah?" Jack tried back. "Well, you smell funny!"

"Enough!" Elizabeth halted the argument. "Jack, we need to find Will. That's all I want."

Want. That sparked an idea in Jack's mind. "I don't believe that is the case, darling," Jack said, briefly angering Elizabeth. "What I believe is that the one thing you want more than to actually find Will is to find a way to save him."

"Where are you going with this, Jack?" Elizabeth wondered. "Would you have a way of doing that?"

"Indeed I do," Jack declared. "You see, there is a chest-"

"Oh great." Norrington groaned as he went off to vomit some more. Ignoring that, Jack continued.

"There is a chest of unknown size and origin, with a very valuable piece of leverage inside."

"It contains the still-beating heart of Davy Jones!" Pintel revealed as he walked by. Ragetti trailed, flexing his fingers and making heartbeat noises.

"And whoever possesses that chest possesses the ability to make Jones do anything that he or she wants, including save our dear friends."

"And how would you do that?" Elizabeth asked, now intrigued.

"With this," Jack replied, pulling out his trademark compass. "This compass is quite...unique."

"Oh sure," Norrington chimed in. "If your definition of unique is 'broken'."

"True enough, this compass doesn't point north," Jack admitted.

"Where does it point?" Elizabeth wondered.

"It points to many things love, and yet the same," the captain explained. "This compass points to the thing you want most in this world."

Elizabeth allowed Jack to place the compass in her palm. "Are you telling the truth?"

"Every word, love," Jack assured. "And the thing you want most in this world is to find the chest of Davy Jones, is it not?"

"To save Will," Elizabeth corrected.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Jack asked out loud. When she presented no answered, he said it for her. "By finding the chest of Davy Jones." Opening up the compass, he backed away and allowed Elizabeth's desire to do the work.

Elizabeth concentrated as hard as she could, but the arrow continued to spin without end. "It's not working!"

"You've got to really want it!" Jack insisted.

"Or you're just a huge liar," Norrington presented. "That's my personal choice."

Sora thought momentarily. At the moment, he didn't even really care what happened to Jack. He just wanted to make sure Steven got off of that ship. He stepped forward and placed his hand on the compass. Elizabeth looked into his eyes briefly. With a nod to each other, they both concentrated.

_We're going to save you, Will_, Elizabeth said in her mind.

_Hang tight, Steven. We're going to help you_, Sora thought with all his might.

_Find the chest of Davy Jones_, they both commanded simultaneously in their heads. After a few seconds, the arrow finally slowed to a stop, pointing in a set direction. The wind had no effect on the arrow, for it was fixed on its location.

Jack peered up over the compass to check it, then smiled happily. "We have our heading, Mr. Gibbs!"

"Finally!" Gibbs cheered under his breath. "Hoist anchor, men! Prepare to cast off!"

Sora followed Jack aboard the ship. "Jack, if this works, I'll try to convince Steven and Will not to kill you once they're free."

"That's greatly appreciated, mate," Jack nodded. "However, unnecessary, seeing how it is through my plan that they will be saved."

Sora headed off in the opposite direction and Jack was left to himself.

"Way to go, mate!" Jack blinked upon hearing his own voice, even though he had not spoken. "Oye, over here." He looked over and was incredibly surprised to see a mini-version of himself standing upon his shoulder. "Hello."

"Who're you?" Jack wondered.

"He's you," said his voice again, only from another shoulder. Jack looked to his left to see another tiny him standing on his other shoulder. "And so am I!"

"Okay," Jack accepted uneasily. "And...why are you here?"

"We're here to help you make the big decision," said the first.

"Will you save William and Steven from the fate you set them to?" presented the second.

"Or will you give Davy Jones the souls he asks for?"

"To be honest, I'm sort of winging it at the moment," Jack said. "Whichever option works out faster is the one I'll go with."

"So you're going to save them?" the first concluded.

"Did you not just hear him?" the second interjected. "He said he's weighing his options.

"But Elizabeth and Sora are leading him to the chest, are they not?"

"You make a fair point. And he is nowhere near the one-hundred soul mark, after all."

"Wonderful ego boost there," Jack griped sarcastically. "You two are so helpful, but I think I'll handle this one on my own, alright?"

"Suit yourself," his two shoulder-people chimed before disappearing into nothing. Jack shook his head. _Honestly, you'd think that personifications of me would already know that there's only one logical choice here_, he said to himself.

_...I'm still getting the souls, just in case._

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY!**

**P.S: I will be taking a short break from this to focus on a few other things, but it won't be long.**


	17. Bargains, Temptation, and Attack

Beckett's office was a bit more populated than usual. In addition to an officer that he had asked to etch in some borders on his large map of the world, Mr. Mercer was present. Three more men joined them as well; two were redcoats, and they were holding the third man captive.

"Governor Swann," Beckett spoke, drawing a sword that he held. "You really should have re-evaluated your place. But then again, that's a conundroum itself: knowing the shape of the world, and then finding one's place in it."

Swann stood before Beckett, his head shown by the removal of his wig, and with his wrists shackled. "I promise that this precaution is not necessary," he said, indicating the chains.

"You're worried about that?" Beckett scoffed. "I'm sorry, that's my mistake. I thought you'd be a bit more worried about the wherabouts of you daughter."

Governor Swann's hearbeat increased. "You have news of her?" he asked hopefully.

"Indeed we have," Mercer confirmed. "She was last spotted on the Isle of Tortuga, traveling with the known pirate Jack Sparrow, among other fugitives from justice."

"You call it justice?" Swann huffed. "Hardly."

"Including the former owner of this sword, if I recall correctly." Beckett thrust the sword he was examining into its scabbard to create emphasis. He could see a bulge growning in Governor Swann's throat. "And unfortunately, their deaths will not come by cannons and cutlass." Beckett snickered a little bit under his breath. "You remember the creatures that my dear associate used to surround your carriage, yes?" Governor Swann had to nod in response. "They are creatures of pure darkness, creatures that feed on human hearts. They feel no remorse, only the need to survive. I will be sending Mr. Mercer out with a ship. He will track down the fugitives and justice will be served."

Governor Swann no longer had any resistance. He had seen the creatures and did not even want to imagine what they were capable of beyond what he had already been told. "I will give you whatever it is that you want from me," he promised.

"I want your authority as governor," Beckett declared. "I want all influence you have in London, and I want you to pledge all that in loyalty to the East India trading company." He raised an eyebrow. "And in exchange, I can arrange for the safety of your loved one."

"To you, you mean," Governor Swann sighed. But as he sighed, Beckett knew that Swann knew that there was really no alternative. Governor Swann held out his hands, pleading that the shackles be removed. "Do what you can for my daughter."

Beckett nodded to the redcoats, giving the order to remove Swann's shackles. The former governor rubbed his wrists, savoring his sudden release. "So you see, Mercer?" Beckett pointed out. "There is a price that all men will willingly accept, even for the one thing he never hoped to sell." He waved his hand in finality. "Now please leave me in peace. I have an appointment to attend to."

Only moments after the redcoats had escorted Swann away and Beckett's remaining two associates had departed, Beckett spotted a large, green orb the size of a small cannonball. It bounced momentarily in the air before settling at a spot in front of his desk. He paced behind his desk and poured a couple glasses of brandy. He held them both as the orb began to change, materializing before him a flash of green flames. As they died down, his closest, most powerful associate was standing before him.

"Maleficent. Always a pleasure." He held up a glass for her. "Care for a drink?"

"Spare me the pleasantries, Beckett," Maleficent drawled. "You summoned me here on account of some bad news, news that you yourself stated I should hear in person. Now if you don't mind, I'd rather you just put this new thorn in my side quickly and get it over with."

"So hostile," Beckett muttered. "But I shall do as you wish." He produced a small telescope. "I compell you to look out that window, as far east on the mainland as you can see. Tell me what it is you find."

Maleficent snatched the telescope without hesitation and peered out the window briefly. "I see very little," she informed. "Though I'd expect nothing less from such a- wait a moment." Maleficent removed the telescope from her eye. "I spot a very large pile of crumbled stone. Is this related to your news?"

"It is, in fact," Beckett confirmed. "You see, that prison held a boy named Steven three days ago. He was placed in there on that day. But as it would seem, he escaped only minutes after being incarcerated."

"Is this due to your pathetic security?" Maleficent wondered. "Or is there more?"

"Oh yes, Maleficent," Beckett nodded. "Much more. You know my associate Mercer, correct?" Maleficent's glare remained and she was silent to him. Without bothering to restate the question, Beckett continued. "Well, he was keeping watch nearby. He spotted Steven taking a shot at the prison with a rather curious weapon, a weapon not unfamiliar to you." Maleficent's head twitched in shock before Beckett confirmed her fear. "A weapon in the shape of a key."

There was a moment of silence, a calm before the storm. Then the villainess snapped. "You FOOL!" Maleficent bellowed, slamming her staff on the floor and singing a good-sized hole into the carpet. "You have allowed a Keyblade Wielder that you had in your custody to simply walk out of here without so much as a struggle?"

"It is futile to argue about it," Beckett spoke in a raised voice, standing his ground. "Your focus and my own would be better placed on how we can annhilate him, as well as Sora."

With a heavy sigh, Maleficent grumbled. "Very well then." She rested her staff calmly on the ground. "The knowledge of a fourth Keyblearer is an annoyance, but also a small comfort. We know that neither the king nor Sora's friend Riku have taken part in this battle yet."

"And I already have a hunch as to where they are," Beckett reminded. "Sora has traveled to this world before, and he is likely to associate with the same pirate he teamed up with before: Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Then your next task should be simple." Maleficent raised her arms and green fire spouted from her person once again. "Find their wherabouts. Use any means necessary to destroy them. Show no mercy on any who may try to protect them, they are only in the way. As for this new Keybearer-" Maleficent smirked to herself. "I shall be looking forward to meeting him for the first time." The flames sprouted once more and the orb formed again. It floated out of the window and vanished shortly after.

* * *

Steven stretched out his body after taking a break in one of the hammocks below deck. It was hardly a bed, but it was suitable. He'd learned by now to ignore the feeling of his clothes being wet, because in this world, that was evidently going to happen quite a bit. He swung it a little bit, then launched himself off of the hammock.

"Wheeee-OW!" He was not well-practiced in this particular dismount technique, and so it should make sense that he landed on his rear when he came into contact with the wooden floors of the lower deck. He seethed loudly as he stood up. "Ooooh maaan, that hurt."

He hobbled up the steps, making his way to the main deck where most of the crew had gathered. It was easy to pick Will out of the crowd, being the only other full-human on board. Bootstrap stood alongside him. They greeted Steven with a quick nod, then turned their gaze back to the deck.

Will was concentrating on the game being played by the crew, one that involved dice and cups, analyzing the aspects of the game. Steven was also observing it, though feeling less confused with each second passing by.

"Wondering how it's played?" Bootstrap asked the two boys.

"No," Steven replied. "It's called Liar's Dice. My old flying instructor was a huge gambler, and played this game a lot. Don't ask," he warned immediately before Bootstrap or Will could question him about 'flying'. "Each player has a cup of dice. They have to put the dice in the cup, shake in, then put the cup face-down on the table, with the dice still in it. Then they have to guess how many of a certain number were rolled, raising the bid each turn. You can call your opponent a liar if you think they're wrong, and if they are, they're out. If they aren't, you are. Last one standing wins."

Bootstrap chuckled loudly. "You sound like a professional, kid."

Steven nodded in appreciation. "But the trickiest part is that you're betting on all the dice when you only truly know what your own are."

"You say the man who taught you this, was a gambler," Will re-insinuated. "So this is a gambling game?" Steven nodded, upon which Will turned to Bootstrap. "What are the crew members wagering?"

"The only thing we have left," Boostrap replied. "Our years of service."

"Can any crew member be called out to play?" Will asked.

"Aye, anyone."

That was the sealing factor for Will's plan, the factor that allowed him to make an announcement. "I challenge Davy Jones."

The heads of every member of the crew seemed to twist. Some invisible force seemed to be at work, as if uttering such a phrase would catch everybody's attention. There had been organ music playing before, but it was suddenly silenced.

_THUD_. The crew turned their heads when they heard that thudding noise. _THUD_. Will knew what was coming, and it was too late to turn back. _THUD. _The noises grew louder as the source came closer. Sea life attached to the ship shrank back as the presence approached. The crew laughed deviously as they watched Davy Jones step down onto the deck, his creepy tentacled face wearing a wide smirk.

"I accept that challenge."

Steven's eyes darted to Will. "What are you doing?" Will didn't answer him, only stepped forward as they crew prepared a special board for dice. "Will, answer me!" But Steven only received silence. The crew placed cups and dice onto the table just before Jones reached it.

"Name your stakes," Jones demanded.

"I wager my soul, and an eternity of servitude," Will stated firmly.

"No!" Bootstrap gasped.

"What is he doing?" Steven wondered out loud.

The smirk on the captain's face only grew wider with interest. "Against?"

Will responded by pulling the piece of cloth, folded, out of his pocket. "I want this from you." Jones gripped the cloth with his clawed hand and brought it up to his face. He used his tentacled hand to unroll it. Less than a second later, he angrily tossed it aside.

"How do you know of the key?"

"I don't believe that's a part of the game, is it?" Will replied, calmly taking a seat before the board. "The dice haven't been cast yet. You can still walk away."

Jones hesitated a moment before sitting before the board as well. A confident smirk spread on his face once again, as one of his tentacles retreated into his coat. Then it came out again. Held in the slimy curls of the tentacle was double-pronged key, every detail present that had been outlined on the cloth. Jones made a motion with his face that would've resembled a regular person raising their eyebrow before hanging the key inside his coat once again.

Each of the players picked up one of the dice cups and placed five dice inside. They shook it briefly before slamming it, one by one, onto the table. Jones was ready. Then Will.

_THUD_. A third cup slammed onto the table. Jones lifted his head to see Bootstrap's hand holding the other cup. "What?"

"I match his wager," Bootstrap replied. "I'm in."

"No!" Will cried. "You don't have to do this. Get out now."

Bootstrap shrugged solemnly. "The dice have been cast, son. I bid two threes." He nodded towards Jones. "Your bid, captain."

With a smile, Jones made his guess. "Four fours."

The crew chuckled sinisterly, increasing Will's nervousness, which was close to impossible in a situation already this drastic. Taking a deep breath, Will peeked at the dice in his cup, then made his guess. "Five fives."

"Six threes," said Bootstrap.

Jones lifted his cup enough for him to check his dice, then smiled. "Seven fives."

Steven watched Will nervously. _Jones just bet that about half the dice were the same number, _he realized. _Will has to guess above that or call Jones a liar, and he's stuck in a situation where the odds are against him with either direction!_

Will had simultaneously realized this, but he kept going. "Eight fives."

Jones chuckled. "Then welcome to the crew, lad."

"Twelve fives!" Jones jerked his head when he heard Bootstrap's bet. "That's my call. Call me a liar or raise the bid."

"And be called a liar myself for my trouble?" Jones batted aside Bootstrap's cup, revealing the dice that revealed the truth. "Bootstrap Bill, you are a liar. You will spend eternity aboard this ship!" He flipped the game board over and spilled the remaining dice onto the deck. "Master Turner, you are free to go ashore. We'll keep an eye out for you next time we make port!" The crew echoed with an uproar of laughter as they departed the area.

"You fool!" Will scolded. "Why would you do that?"

"I couldn't let you lose," Bootstrap replied sadly.

"It was never about winning or losing," Will explained.

"The key!" Steven and Bootstrap cried simultaneously. They realized that Will didn't care about the outcome of the game. He had orchestrated it, challenged Jones for only one reason: he needed to know where that key was.

* * *

When night fell, the majority of the crew slept. The one that remained awake was keeping watch over the ship, at least until Bootstrap appraoched him. "Captain says I'm to relieve you." The fish-man turned to face Bootstrap, the nerves in his coral-lined face twitching. "Captain's orders," Bootstrap firmly spoke. Not about to deny an order to take a break, the sea-man lumbered off to rest.

With Bootstrap now on watch, Will and Steven broke from their half-resting positions. Will headed off downstairs to the captain's cabin. He opened up the door slowly, but quickly enough to avoid the creaking noises it would make. His feet glided across the floor when he walked. They didn't step as such, but they did manage to come into contact with it without waking Jones, who was bending over, sleeping in a sitting position before his organ.

Will bent over. He grabbed a writing quill and a feather pen from the wooden perch of the organ, and then used it to lift two of Jones' tentacles. In his dazed state, Jones' tentacles wrapped around the utensils being used to lift them. This gave Will enough leverage to beginning reaching for the key. He placed the quill in his mouth to free a hand, then moved it towards the dangling key.

As he moved, one tentacle became dislodged from his grip and hit a couple of organ keys and the pipes to which they were connected played the instrument loudly, snapping Jones out of his slumber. Will was enough to the right to where he was not in direct sight, but if Jones looked over, he was done for.

What he hadn't counted on was a small, heart-shaped music box resting on the organ's wood. It played a sweet, innocent tune, that seemed to calm Jones, lulling him slowly back to sleep within a matter of seconds. Thanking the higher powers that the captain hadn't simply looked to his right, Will reached for the key. He prodded the tentacle that held it with the cloth containing the drawing of the key, and the snoozing captain's appendage unfurled to accept it, releasing the actually key into Will's hand. Will slowly rested Jones' tentacles to avoid causing another accident, and then stepped swiftly and quiety out of the room.

Steven and Bootstrap pulled at the rope, having just finished securing the lifeboat that waited for Steven and Will in the water. Just as they had done this, Will made his way topdeck.

"About time," Steven said quietly. "You get it?" Will nodded. "Good, then we should get out of here."

"Aye," Bootstrap agreed. "But I have something for you first." He held out a leather pouch to his son. "Get as far away as you can, Will." Will accepted the pouch, and pulled the object inside out of it. Inside was a small dagger, like a cooking knife, but much more apt for grip. "It was always in my blood to die at see, but I didn't want that fate for you."

Will drew the dagger and looked over it. "You didn't have to choose that fate for youself either."

"Ah, but I did," Bootstrap replied. "I could try all I want to say I did what I had to, the excuse I had when I left you to go pirating. But it would taste a bitter lie to say that it wasn't what I wanted to do. You owe me nothing, Will. Now go."

Steven hesitated to go over the edge. "Why did you help us? I could've taken the nightguard's post, and you could've rested. Now they'll know you helped us escape."

Bootstrap chuckled as loudly as he could afford to at this hour. "Boy, my son owes me nothing, but I owe him everything." He laughed again. "Besides, look at me! They've got nothing left!" With a small laugh, Steven nodded.

"Thank you, Bootstrap."

"You're welcome, boy," Bootstrap said in response.

Will waited a moment as Steven clambered down the side of the ship to the longboat. He held up the pouch before his father. "I take this blade with a promise. There is a way to sever Jones' hold on you, and I'll find it. I promise that I will not abandon you here, promise that I won't rest until this blade is plunged into his heart."

Those were the final words Will exchanged with his father before leaving the _Flying Dutchman_. He gripped the railing of the ship, then used the notches carved on the side to step down into the longboat, where Steven had already attached the oars.

"They'll probably be onto us, you know," Steven reminded as he and Will started to row. "Davy Jones doesn't control the sea: he _is _the sea. He'll know where anything that's come from his ship has gone."

"Which is why we need to move quickly, and in the night," Will replied. "Once we find another ship, we can leave the longboat, and hopefully push it off in another direction to mislead Jones."

Steven shook his head nervously. "Your plans are pretty risky, Will. I hope you know what you're doing." Will nodded at Steven to reassure him. But in reality, the phrase. _So do I_ echoed inside his head.

* * *

Norrington had successfully boardered the _Black Pearl_, but he was stuck with the unfortunate, degrading duty of cleaning off the deck with a wet rag. The job itself was terrible enough without the fact of not receiving a mop with which to do the job. Luckily enough, it gave him enough insight to listen in on the conversation being had by Elizabeth, Jack, and Sora.

"Come again?" Jack said.

"They're signed," Elizabeth pointed out, showing him the letters of marque she had obtained. "Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company." Jack stuck his tongue out in disgust upon hearing the name of the man and the company.

"Who is this guy?" Sora asked. "And why wouldn't Will tell us that he was making a deal with him?"

"Only this much be certain." The three looked over to Gibbs, who had walked in at the opportune moment, hearing enough to know what he needed. "Why would Beckett want the compass? What could it lead him to?" He asked the question, knowing the answer already. Jack figured it out soon after.

"That's it," he realized. "He wants the chest."

"Davy Jones' chest?" Sora said.

"He did mention a chest, yes," Elizabeth confirmed.

"A terrible notion it is, love," Jack replied. "If Beckett controls the chest, he controls the sea."

"Which would spell doom for any mother's son what calls himself a pirate." Gibbs shuffled around nervously. "Mister Sora? I believe more speed can be coaxed from these sails, if you would."

Sora nodded, then headed off the the front end of the ship. "Brace the foreyard!" he called. "We have to move faster!"

Jack, meanwhile, looked over the letters. "So how did you come to receive these?"

Elizabeth summed it up with one word. "Persuasion."

"Friendly persuasion?"

"Decidedly not."

"A big question of honor is raised here, love." Jack opened up the letters to read their contents. "Will is the one who held up the bargain, but you are the one holding the prize."

Norrington's ears perked up as he heard Jack speak.

"A full pardon, commission as a privateer in the employ of England, and the East India Trading Company." Jack scoffed upon finishing. "They can't buy me for a price like that." He tucked the letters softly into his pocket and stepped away.

"Jack!" Elizabeth stepped after him. "The letters, give them back."

"No," Jack denied, smiling a bit. "Persuade me."

Elizabeth leaned in over his shoulder. "Will has taught me how to handle a sword."

"I say it again," Jack whispered. "Persuade me." Elizabeth remained for a few more seconds, her mouth hanging open with a loss at what to say, then stormed off. Jack frowned slightly, disappointed at her lack of effort.

Norrington was not oblivious to Elizabeth's state of mind, and he leaned casually against the rail as she looked out to sea. "A curious thing indeed," he said. "I remember a time where I would've killed for you to look like that while thinking about me."

Elizabeth turned to face him briefly. "I don't know what you're talking about," she mumbled defiantly.

Norrington's eyes trailed over to Jack. "Oh, I think you do."

Elizabeth pushed him a little. "Oh for God's sake, I trust him, that's all."

"You trust _him_?" Norrington realized. "Oh Elizabeth." He shook his head, ridiculing her silently. "So you're not curious in any way as to how your fiance and that boy wound up on the _Dutchman _in the first place?"

Elizabeth didn't answer his question, upon which he smirked and walked off. But once he did, Elizabeth pulled out the compass Jack had given her once again. It spun briefly before fixing in a direction that pointed behind her and to the right a little. Turning back, she saw the arrow targeting Jack, looking out through his telescope for land.

She angrily snapped it shut, praying that it was mere coincidence and the chest that she was seeking just so happened to be in the same direction.

"Something wrong?"

Elizabeth's mood raised slightly when she heard Sora's voice. "Of course there is. My fiance and your friend are stuck on board the ship of Davy Jones," she said, joking as much as she could.

Sora chuckled. "Knowing Will, he and Steven have probably escaped already."

Elizabeth chuckled back, but her tone grew solemn once more. "It would ease my mind if I at least knew how they were captured in the first place."

Sora looked over at Jack. He knew he wasn't intended to, but Sora decided that Elizabeth needed to know the truth. "Well, I'll tell you one thing: it was an unfortunate, very forseeable series of circumstances that had _everything_ whatsoever to do with Jack."

"What?" Elizabeth gasped.

Sora was in now, so he went for it. "Jack is trying to get out of a debt to Davy Jones. For that, he needs the chest. But further more, he needs the key to make absolutely sure nobody else gets it."

"But why would Jack need the key when he has you?" Elizabeth wondered. "A key to the chest of his own heart would be something that I'm sure Jones would keep on his person at all times."

"I know," Sora replied. "And every bit of information we've found involving that key only proves it more."

"So why would he do this?" Elizabeth said. "It would be nearly impossible for anybody to get the key!"

Sora's mouth hung open for a few seconds, unsure of what to say. "I...have a suspicion," he revealed. "Steven and I came here because Heartless are running around in your world again. I haven't seen any yet, but it wouldn't shock me if there was somebody controlling them, trying to get the chest."

"Sora!" Elizabeth gasped. "What if the Heartless are under the command of Jones?"

"I don't think so," Sora said. "I'm a Keyblade Wielder. If Jones had control of the Heartless, he'd want to get rid of me and Steven. We're the biggest threat against them, after all." Elizabeth did not respond, and Sora pivoted his head to see her eyes opening wider, as if in great shock. "Elizabeth?"

"Sora, what if it's Beckett?" she asked.

Sora nodded. "It could be." He looked to his left, then his right, then behind him, almost like Beckett himself was on their tail as he spoke. "And if he's bad enough to have Heartless, he's definitely bad enough to plow through anybody who gets in his way if they're no use to him."

"Let him try," Elizabeth grumbled. "He won't get past us."

"That's the spirit," Sora encouraged. "You know, Elizabeth, you've really changed since we last met. You're stronger, more determined, and not ready to give up." He smiled at her. "It's good to be that way."

"Thank you," she replied. "You've hardly changed, though. You're still heroic, brave, and kind." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "You're a wonderful person, Sora. Don't ever change."

Sora smiled, placing his hand over hers. "Thanks, Elizabeth." She removed her hands from Sora's shoulder. "So are we on course for the chest?"

Elizabeth faltered briefly, then shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think the compass might be broken."

"Oh..." Sora said. "That's...not good."

As the two parted ways for now, Sora couldn't help but hope that Steven and Will were having better luck, wherever they were.

* * *

Will and Steven wrapped themselves tightly in the blankets that the men aboard this ship had offered to them. They had rowed through most of the night through a freezing ocean and the breeze that accompanied it was doing nothing to help.

"Thank you," Steven sighed gratefully, accepting the warm tea he was being offered. It didn't have a fairly likable taste, but it was heat, and he could feel it helping the instant he took a drink.

"I must say," the captain began, "I think it's mighty curious to be finding a longboat so far out in open water."

"Please don't press us right now," Will requested. "Just put as much distance behind us as you can, as fast as you can."

"You boys running from something?" he asked.

Steven was about to answer, but he stopped when he spotted something hanging from a rocking chair. He took off his blanket and stood up. "Will? Doesn't that dress look familiar to you?"

Will lurched from his seating position when he saw it. He dropped his blanket to the floor and set his tea aside. He regained some feeling of warmth in his legs as he stumbled over. Resting upon the rocking chair was a yellow dress, exactly like the one Elizabeth had been wearing for their interrupted wedding.

"Where did you get this?" he demanded to know.

"It was found aboard the ship," the captain explained. "Some of the crew believed it to be an omen of ill will, or some kind of spirit."

Will shook his head. "That's ridiculous."

"I concur," the captain nodded in agreement. "It brought very good fortune for us. The spirit left a message, telling us to make port in Tortuga. We made a nice bit of profit. Off-record, of course."

Steven and Will exchanged a nervous look, then Steven spoke. "Did anybody in your crew jump ship there?"

"Why would you ask?" the captain wondered.

"Captain!" A sailor rushed down into the cabin to alert the captain. "A ship has been spotted, sir!"

"What're their colors?" the captain asked.

"She's not flying any," the sailor reported.

"Pirates!" the captain hissed.

"Or worse," Will muttered to himself.

* * *

A cloth bearing the key which had been stolen from Davy Jones was being smushed into the tentacled hand of Jones himself as he stared out at the ship where the two deserters had taken refuge. "Be it a longboat or a simple plank, you cannot run so long as you carry a piece of the _Dutchman _with you and escape me." He spun angrily to face the one who had orchestrated their escape. He fiercely clamped his clawed hand around the neck of Bootstrap Bill Turner. "You will watch this," he whispered menacingly.

The bosun's whip cracked across the backs of unlucky sailors who gripped a set of wooden posts, turning a wheel. The carving of an octopus was carved into the wooden hammer being raised a few feet with each revolution.

"Let no joyful voice be heard!" Jones cried to the open air.

The whips cracked across their backs again, and they began to move faster, rasing the hammer even higher.

"Let no man look up at the sky with hope!"

The hammer jerked yet again, about to reach its peak. The sea-men who spun the wheel growled in anticipation, preparing for this moment.

"And let this day be cursed by we who readily wake: the Kraken!"

Bootstrap lurched forward, upon which those who restrained him tightened their grip. "Noooo!" was the only desperate cry he could yell to the heavens before the hammer dropped into place, created a shockwave beneath the ocean that was spreading out from the _Dutchman_, targeting the ship sailing not far away from them.

* * *

Will held on tightly to the ropes that securing the sails near the uppermost part of the ship. He did not envy Steven, who had stayed on deck, and was caught in the tremor that rocked the ship, knocking every crew member who did not gain a hold within a second to their backsides, including Steven.

"Oh geez," Steven groaned. "What just happened?"

"We must've hit a reef," a sailor decided.

The captain peered over the side of the boat. He could she the water churning a little, and he deduced the cause immediately. "Free the rudder!" he ordered. "Hard to port, then hard to starboard!"

Calls of 'free the rudder' and 'hard to port' echoed throughout the ship, but the captain spoke no more. Because one sailor's eyes had been fixed on his captain when said captain was suddenly pulled overboard by what looked like a large tentacle. He pointed a quivering finger out to sea.

Steven spotted this and he rushed over to him. "What's wrong?" The man's words were rendered complete gibberish by fear, so Steven simply looked outside. His heart beat much faster when out of the sea came the screaming captain, waved in the air by what was indeed a large tentacle, for all the sailors to get a glimpse of their impending doom before it dragged the man back underwater with a snap.

"Kraken!" a sailor yelled. He dashed for a bell and rang it loudly, calling all sailors to gather weapons. Guns and spears were passed around to the more organized sailors and the other, more terrified bunch were running around in fright.

"Holy crap!" Steven peered over the side. Crawling up the side of the ship were more tentacles, some smaller and some larger than the one he had just seen drag the captain under. For the first time since he'd fought aboard the wrecked ship he'd seen before, he called his Keyblade to his hand. "Come on!" he taunted. "Come get me, you overgrown, tentacled, son of a-"

"Young lad!" a sailor barked, brandishing his spear at Steven before he could finish his sentence. "Watch your tongue!"

"Watch my tongue?" Steven shoved the man's spear aside with his Keyblade. "Get your priorities straight, man. We're about to die here!" Steven turned around to face an oncoming tentacle, but was rendered without a target when it came over him and snatched up the man he'd just been arguing with. "Correction: _you're_ about to die here. Will and I, in the meantime, will be on our way. Right, Will?" After hearing silence, he looked around, and that's when he realized he could not see his compaion. "Will!" he called.

"Steven!" The Keyblade Wielder raised his head to see his friend hanging from a rope tied to the mast.

"Will!" Steven called. "I'm comin- UNGH!" Steven got the wind knocked out of him when a tentacle caught him, winding around his body. "Oh crap!" He felt himself lifted into the air, being wrapped into submission by the kraken.

"No!" Will yelled. But as he would be reassured of later, Steven was not going to be in danger for long.

"Thunder!" Steven bellowed, pointing his Keyblade at the lower part of the tentacle that held him. The water covering the appendage reacted highly to the electricity, which trailed up the full length of it back down to the water. It crackled at the surface, but it was enough to give the Kraken enough of a jolt to wiggle a bit, and plenty for the tentacle holding Steven to go ballistic, snapping into the air and releasing Steven from its hold. Will let out a gasp of relief as he held out his hand to his oncoming companion.

"I got it!" Steven declared, holding his arms out. But he landed short of Will's hand, instead taking an approach to the left, slamming quite painfully into the wooden piece of the sail's frame with his body. "OW!" Steven cried, but he did manage to hook his arms around it. Unfortunately, he was covered in slime, and was not able to maintain such a hold for very long.

"Give me your hand!" Will urged.

"I can't!" Steven yelled, still slipping around as he struggled to find a hold. "It's covered in slime!" Steven looked down at his body, looking for a dry spot to rub it off on. Unfortunately, there were none within his reach. He ran his hand through his hair nervously, suddenly finding that it had remained untouched. Without a second consideration, he pressed his hand into his hair and pushed it through, passing the slime to that area and freeing him the ability to grab Will's hand, upon which he was lifted and set down on the piece of wood that Will was balancing on.

"Now we've got to get out of here," Will determined. He received silence from Steven, whose hand was still quivering, hovering inches above the hair which he had just been forced to coat in slime. Will shook him lightly to bring him back into reality. "Steven! Are you okay?"

Steven shook his head violently, spraying his surroundings with patches of slime that flew out of his hair. "I'll live," he replied. "But..._God_, that was disgusting!"

The graveness of the situation seemed to have little effect on Will, the case being that he was able to easily chuckled at Steven's small misery. But he was focused enough to where he saw another skinny tentacle headed for him and Steven. He drew his sword and batted the wiggling appendage away from him. Even when it caught his sword, its grip was weak, allowing Will to yank it away, cutting into the tentacle in the process. For good measure, Steven followed up with a fire spell. The two gained a smal feeling of satisfaction upon hearing the sea monster sizzle.

Will and Steven traversed along the wooden post they stood upon. "Well, Steven, I believe the phrase of your choice here would be 'bring it on'?"

"That's the one," Steven confirmed with a smile. "Now let's take this thing down!"

Upon saying that, even larger giant tentacles rose from the water, tentacles equaling the width of a large house and their length exceeding that of the ship. Water rained down on the scrambling crew as they tried futiley to escape their untimely demise.

"Or we could run," Will suggested.

Steven nodded wildly. "Running's good."

The kraken's tentacles slowly fell into the ship, breaking it roughly down the middle and tipping the ship at a slant. The sails tipped towards the center of the ship. Will and Steven, the only two brave enough to climb up there for safety watched as the the unlucky sailors slid down the deck of the ship into the ocean. Some were dropped from the kraken's tentacles, into a circular maw upon the creature. Whatever men weren't simply dragged under were devoured by the beast.

Will and Steven were literally snapped into their senses when the mast was crushed, removing any stability of the supports they stood on. The sail that supported them leaned to the left side of the ship, and they dove into the water before it had the chance to crush them when it landed on its own. Daring to open their eyes beneath the water, the pair could see the beast in its full form. Around twenty tentacles protruded from a voluminous body that was literally dragging the remains of the ship underneath the ocean.

Not taking their sweet time with getting away, Steven and Will kick furiously to get to the water's surface. They flail their arms a bit before straightening their bodies out into a proper swim to a large, sturdy piece of wood from the destroyed ship.

"What'll we do now?" Steven asked. "The _Dutchman_ is pretty much bearing down on us."

"Take a look!" Will whispered frantically before diving beneath the water again.

"Will!" Steven called quietly, copying Will's whispering. "What're you-" He took a look as Will had requested and he saw the _Flying Dutchman_ literally only a few yards away. He dove down with Will to keep any sailors who may come to the rails of the ship from spotting them.

Jones reached the rail before anybody else. He had surveyed the prisoners that they had taken, and the two escapees were not among them. His first mate, the hammerhead, strode up beside him. "The boys are not here. They've been claimed by the sea."

"I _am_ the sea," Jones grumbled. All the more frustrated that he had lost his catches again, he rounded on Bootstrap, who was still being held in restraint for his traitorous act. "How about some time for your thoughts, Turner? Take him to the brig!"

"Captain!" one of the sea-men called. "What of the survivors?"

Jones stepped towards the line of prisoners, surveying their quivering shaking forms. Sizing them up was not on his mind anymore. He had more than enough crew members, and it only caused trouble to bring any more on board, as evidenced by the last batch. "There are no survivors," he declared coldly.

Will and Steven clambered up the side of the ship. It had plenty of holes and gaps for them to use as footholds, but the troubling party was the constant slipperiness of the seaweed that was present in much of those gaps. None the less, they soon made it up to witness the deck. As Jones gave the command, four crew members cackled viciously, raising axes to the four sailors who had survived the wreckage, and then striking downward upon them.

Steven winced violently upon witnessing an act such as that a second time, but he forced himself to keep his grip. _It's our fault... _he realized. _They died because we took refuge with them, and Jones followed._

Will winced upon seeing the murders as well, but he quickly shoved Steven, snapping him out of his horror-filled trance in time for the both of them to duck down to avoid being seen. They heard Jones' footsteps heading towards where they were and they quickly traversed down, quietly slipping into the maw of the crocodile figurehead at the head of the ship, staying hidden from sight even as Jones looked down. Knowing that they were out of sight when Jones started barking orders at the crew, Will turned to Steven. "Listen," he began. "Jones just mentioned a place known as Isle Cruces. That has to be where the chest is. All we have to do is stay here for a while until we reach it."

"Okay." Steven nodded to assure Will that he understood. He sat back in the carved maw and sighed deeply.

Will blinked from the curiosity. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I..." Steven bowed his head. "I don't know. We..." He gulped deeply, choking back his words momentarily. "We brought about their death, Will," he said. "Those sailors died because we tried to escape with them. But it didn't work, and now they're all dead."

"They would have killed us too if we had not taken refuge aboard that ship," Will reminded, trying to reassure the boy.

"You sound like you're trying to justify what we did," Steven observed.

"That's not my intention at all!" Will said as firmly as he could, keeping his voice down. Feeling he had been just a little rough, he sat down and spoke to Steven. "Look at me." The boy's gaze lifted to stare into Will's eyes. "The world of pirates isn't for the faint of heart. You are faced with, and have to make, hard choices here in order to survive. It can and will end in death for somebody. That is unavoidable. I don't say this as if I like it. In fact, I hate it. I'm just caught in the middle of the chaos. And so are you."

Steven flexed his right palm, though he did not summon his Keyblade to it. "But I'm supposed to be a good guy," he lamented. "I'm supposed to be a guy who will do whatever it takes to make sure the worlds are safe."

"And you do," Will agreed. "Chaos in the world is just the nature of things. You can't truly stop every problem. Solving one only creates another, and it's a never-ending cycle. But the Heartless: the Heartless are abominations, not part of nature." He gripped Steven's shoulder with his right hand. "Nobody can achieve peace, but you and Sora possess the ability to restore the natural order.

"I know," Steven admits, perking up just a little bit. "We can save everybody from the Heartless, at least."

"And then you can let them deal with their own problems," Will added.

Suddenly, Steven was beginning to feel a whole lot better. "Thanks Will," he replied happily.

"Don't mention it." Will displayed a smile. "Now we just have to get that chest." After a moment of silence, he laughed a little. "I can't believe how we got here."

"I know, right?" Steven agreed, chuckling as well. "It started off by trying to help Jack, and now we're going to kill Jones and free your father! And kill Jack too, right?"

"Not likely," Will said. "A little maiming wouldn't hurt though," he added with a grin.

"Actually, it would hurt Jack," Steven reminded. "But that's the point, right?"

"Right!" Will acknowledged. He and Steven both rose to their feet, cluching a part of the carved crocodile's maw to keep on their feet. Jones was charting a course that would lead them directly to the chest. Everything was going smoothly and in coordinance with their plans.

* * *

Elizabeth rested her arms on the railing of the _Black Pearl _while her head rested upon her hands, looking out to the sea in longing. Even this close to her goal, this close to rescuing Will by finding Davy Jones' chest, she could not focus, and spent much time sitting and lamenting silently. She shed no tears, only watched the sea, where her husband was surely lost somewhere.

Jack, of all people, was the one who approached her. "My incredible sense of female intuition tells me that you are trouble, my dear."

Elizabeth lifted her head from her hand, then bowed her head. "I just..." She shook her head. "I thought I'd be married by now. I don't want to wait, Jack. I'm ready to be married."

The next second saw Jack, holding his ever-precious bottle of rum out for her. In an ordinary state of mind, Elizabeth would shove it off, having clearly expressed her distaste for such a drink. But as she accepted it and tipped the bottle so that the warm, soothing liquid came down her throat, she held onto it.

Jack slid a little closer to her. "You know...Lizzy, I am captain of a ship. And being captain of a ship, I have the authority to perform a...marr-i-age...right here." He gestured around the _Black Pearl_. "Right on this deck. Right..._now_." He breathed this last phrase in her face.

She didn't shrink back, but a slightly repulsed look crossed her face and she shoved the rum into his hand again. "No thank you," he declined, walking away.

"Why not?" Jack wondered, following her. "You and I are quite alike. I and you, you and me...us."

"Perhaps," Elizabeth agreed. "But you're forgetting the differences of morals, a sense of honor and decency." She scoffed at him. "And personal hygiene."

Jack took a wiff of his armpit, and couldn't help but silently agree with her. "Trifles." He waved it off. "Darling, you will come to my side. And I know why."

"You seem very certain," Elizabeth observed.

"It all comes down to one word, love: Curiosity." Elizabeth looked up, having her attention caught by Jack. "You long for freedom, to do what you want to do just because you want to. You want to act on selfish impulse, want to see what it's like. And before long, you won't be able to resist it."

Elizabeth cast him a prying look. "Why are Will and Steven aboard the _Dutchman_, Jack?"

"Yeah, Jack." The two turned to see Sora slowly descending the stairs towards them. "Why don't you tell us? I mean, it's not like you have anything to hide, right?"

Jack frowned, knowing that Sora already knew what the situation was. Jack himself had not told Elizabeth, so he could safely assume that Sora may have. Not wanting to take such a risky odd, he spilled the beans. "Master William made a deal with me for my compass. In exchange for it, I wished for him to help me find the key to Jones' chest, to make absolutely sure I was in control of the situation. Master Steven, however, simply tagged along when poor William went looking for it."

"Why would you need the key, Jack?" Sora summoned his Keyblade as a reminder. "I doubt Jones will let that key leave his person so easily."

"Master Sora, I promoted you to second mate, so onto that please." With a small shrug, Sora departed, after which Jack continued. "Because if Jones is onto me, he knows where the chest is," Jack explained. "He can be there in a heartbeat while we're relying on my compass. We're trying to find it, but he hardly has to look."

"So you're saying it doesn't work?" Elizabeth said in disbelief.

"My compass works fine," Jack replied. "It gave you the heading, did it not?"

"You want that chest as much as I do, Jack, if not more," Elizabeth said. "There must be a reason why you asked me to use it for you, and I think I know what it is: your compass doesn't work for _you._ You don't know what you want, because you and I are alike, and a moment will come where you can show it by doing the right thing."

"I do love those moments," Jack agreed. He moved his hand in a dramatic fashion, like a wave. "My second-favorite hobby is to wave at them when they pass me by. The favorite of course being-" He lifted the rum bottle in his hand to show his point.

"You'll have the chance to do something," Elizabeth continued. "Something...courageous. That moment will come and you'll realize what I do: you _are_ a good man."

"Much evidence points to the contrary, love," Jack replied.

"I have faith in you," Elizabeth assured. "Would you like to know why?"

Jack smirked. "I'm all ears, darling."

Elizabeth slid over to Jack, leaning in to whisper to him. "Curiosity." Jack's skin tingled a little at the seductive tone she used. "You're going to want it. You want to be admired, and gain the rewards that come with it. One day, you won't be able to resist." She leaned in closer. "You want to know, don't you? You want to know...what it _taste_s like."

Jack's mouth was hung open, and he turned towards Elizabeth. "I do," he admitted. "I do want to know what it tastes like. And I bet it's quite...succulent."

"But you know Jack," Elizabeth whispered while his hand stroked through her hair. "You are a good man, so I know you won't put me in a position that could compromise my honor." With a smile, Elizabeth closed her eyes and opened her mouth a little. She remained where she was while Jack moved in. He smiled widely, getting closer to his desire, until his left hand tingled a bit. Looking over Elizabeth's shoulder, he saw his palm being manipulated, and the black spot that Jones had marked him with slowly returned.

Upon that, he suddenly drew his hands back, his paranoid mindset being snapped back into place. Elizabeth opened her eyes and smiled. "See, Jack? You can resist temptation. I'm very proud of you." She patted his shoulder briefly before leaving him to this thoughts.

"Land ho!" Gibbs announced to the crew.

Jack whimpered, wishing land would get here sooner. "I want my jar of dirt."

* * *

Jack commissioned Pintel and Ragetti to row him, Sora, Elizabeth and Norrington to shore. They had to endure a short, annoying argument about the name of the kraken and how it was pronounced. However, they had pulled into fairly shallow waters, and did not take long to reach shore.

Jack was the first to step out, slinging one of the shovels over his shoulder as he stepped into the wet sand nearby. It sank a tiny bit beneath his feet, but did not give way. "Mind the boat, mind the tide, and do not touch my dirt," were the orders that Jack gave them. Pintel and Ragetti stayed with the boat while all the other occupants trekked through the sand.

"Just keep wanting it, Elizabeth," Jack encouraged. "You want to save William, so you want that chest."

"How will we know when we're getting closer?" Elizabeth asked.

As she asked this, Sora was struck with a feeling of uneasiness. Instinctively, he summoned his Keyblade. Upon that, the group was suddenly confront from behind by a small hole of darkness in the ground. "Look out!" he cried, darting for the hole and slicing across it with his Keyblade.

The group dispersed, and when the hole of darkness vanished, a slightly scattered swarm of Heartless appeared, a couple having taken a strike from the Keyblade. "Heartless!" With quick initiative, Jack and Norrington bore their shovels while Elizabeth pocketed the compass and pulled Jack's cutlass from his belt.

"Oye, that's mine!" Jack complained.

"You're not using it!" Elizabeth protested. The two ceased their arguing with a Heartless darted for the both of them. Startled, the two teamed up, with Elizabeth slicing into the Heartless with the sword and Jack batting it away violently afterwards, reducing it to a whisp of black smoke.

Norrington charged eagerly into the fray, facing against four that slinked towards him. "Bring it on!" he bellowed, swinging his shovel. The strength behind the two-handed blow slammed the Heartless into the ground, annihilating it right there. He struck against the next two that tried to get him, batting them aside, but not destroying them. This left an opening for the fourth Heartless to leap into Norrington, pushing him to the ground. "Get off!" he bellowed, wrestling with it for a moment before he used his hand to shove it aside in time for Sora to cut it down. By this time, all the Heartless had been destroyed.

"What's going on?" Elizabeth wondered. "I thought Jones wouldn't have control of the Heartless!"

"He might not," Sora reminded. "Heartless are drawn in by the presence of a strong heart." He perked his head up. "Which means that the chest is probably close."

Elizabeth yanked the compass from her pocket, focusing on the desire to save Will by finding that chest. Her heading brought them into a small clearing until the arrow rapidly changed directions. Looking up, she scoffed. Jack had taken a slightly heroic looking pose while looking out to sea. She shook the compass wildly. "This doesn't work!" she cried. "And it certainly won't show you the thing you want most!" She threw it to the ground in frustration. Jack, meanwhile, stepped over to the area and watched the compass. Its arrow spun again, and it nestled on Elizabeth.

"Yes it does," he assured. "You're sitting on it."

"Excuse me?" Elizabeth said curiously.

"Move." Jack motioned for her to get off the spot. "Former Commodore, if you will, please begin." With a slight hint of frustration, Norrington plunged the shovel into the sand and started digging where Elizabeth had been sitting. Jack sat upon the ground in a meditation pose and waited patiently. Sora paced around the area, keeping a watch out for Heartless.

* * *

Pintel and Ragetti were waiting by the boat still, wishing they had something better to do.

"Why're we even working for Cap'n Jack, mate?" Ragetti wondered. "We was trying to kill him a month ago. We ended up in jail because o' him and that Sora bloke."

"Because they have the _Pearl_," Pintel reminded. "That beauty of a ship is worth it to serve under, no matter who the captain is!"

"But that makes us...what's the word for those who leave at the first sign of something better?" Ragetti sighed. "I miss Steven," he lamented. "He could always figure out stuff like this in a heartbeat."

Pintel sighed and bowed his head a little. "I do too. But right now, I can see it: him slaving away aboard the _Dutchman_, slowly losing his sanity. The poor lad is only fifteen. He won't survive something like that."

"Then I say we pay tribute to his best memories," Ragetti decided. He looked out to sea and saluted with his hand. "Steven, you were a good lad, even if we only knew you for a few days."

"You were a good lad indeed," Pintel agreed, saluting likewise. "We will always appreciate you busting us out of jail. In your honor, we will live our lives to the fullest."

"But most of all, we will remember your sense of always being there when we need you."

Pintel and Ragetti jumped at hearing the third voice amongst them. Turning to their left, they saw another figure saluting the sea.

"Steven!" they yelled. They lurched forward and patted him roughly on the back and shoulder, also ruffling his hair a little.

Steven laughed upon the crazy welcome his crazy friends had concocted for him. "Hey, guys! I busted out of the _Dutchman_ too, as you can see."

"I knew you wasn't gonna go down that easy!" Ragetti declared. "I just knew it!"

"But where's Turner?" Pintel asked.

"Where's Sora, Jack, and the others?" Steven asked in response.

"They's looking for the chest," Ragetti said. "It's on this island."

"Will's going for there, then," Steven affirmed. "We got the key."

"You got the key?" The two gasped simutaneously.

"Well, Will did," Steven admitted. "We had some help. Bootstrap Bill Turner, his father."

"Bootstrap's alive?" Pintel realized. "But Jones got him. Poor soul."

"But that's okay," Steven assured. "Once we have the heart, we can use it as leverage for Jones to free him from his service."

"So now all we gotta do is wait for this to happen, eh?" Ragetti determined. "Well, alright. Looks like it's all going according to plan."

"What plan?" Pintel ridiculed. "There was no plan!"

"The plan was get the heart!" Ragetti argued. "We almost got it, don't we?"

"Guys!" Steven interrupted. "We practically have control of the entire sea thanks to this." He looked off to the distance, watching his companion disappear over a mound of sand. "All we have to do is be a little patient."

* * *

His wet body was chilled, but Will did not waver. He stomped triumphantly up the hill. He could see four people. Three of them were Jack, Sora, and Elizabeth. One he did not recognize. But all of them were pulling something out of a large, wodden crate. His heart skipped a beat when he saw a small chest. He bided his time, stepping forward slowly as they all bent their heads over it.

"It's real," he heard Elizabeth gasp.

"You actually were telling the truth," the mystery man spoke. Will recognized the voice as Commodore Norrington's. What was he doing here?

"I do that a lot," Jack assured. "You people are always so surprised by that.

Will stopped his pace up to the hill. "With good reason," he agreed.

The responding attention he had alerted to himself was very positive among Sora and Elizabeth.

"Will!" his fiance gasped, breaking into a stride and immediately jumping into his arms. "You're alright, thank God!" She passionately embraced Will, kissing him full on the lips for several seconds.

Jack watched this scene and he knew he was in for a world of hurt if too much was said that ought not to be said.

* * *

**THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**A/N: Well, it took me forever to get this chapter out, so I prepared a long one. It may seem a little rushed at some points, but I promise that Chapter 18 will be very satisfying.**


	18. The Chest, The Key, and the Idiots

It all happened so suddenly, and the entire plan was upset. Sure, Jack had been weighing his options, but he had leaned in favor of using the heart to save Will from the _Dutchman,_ gain control of the seas, and be in the clear. Everything was going according to the plan, and he would've been redeemed and forgiven. But now that Will had arrived here, it was very possible that this general direction was now closed to him.

"I can't believe you made it back!" Elizabeth gasped, clutching him tightly.

"Will," Sora said with a small sense of urgency. "Where's-?"

"He's on the beach," Will replied. He jerked his head to the side as an indicator. Sora took a few running steps to get over the mound of sand to see a few specks in the distance by the longboat that they had rowed to the island in.

"Steven?" Sora called as loudly as he could. The specks faltered a bit, and one of them stepped away a little bit.

"Hey, Sora!" Steven called from a distance. "I'm okay!"

"That's great!"

"Thank you!"

The two stopped yelling across the space to each other and each retreated to their respective parties. Jack kept his distance from Will.

"How did you get here?" he asked.

Will smiled. "Sea turtles, mate. Me and Steve strapped pairs of them to our feet."

Jack chuckled. "Not so easy, is it?"

"But we did escape the _Dutchman,_" Will confirmed. "No thanks to you, Jack. You tricked me and Steven aboard Jones' ship to try and square your debt."

"What?" Elizabeth gasped.

"What?" Jack squeaked.

"But I do owe you thanks, because when I got aboard, I was reunited with my father," Will finished.

"Oh...well, you're welcome, then," Jack beamed. But he frowned when he saw Elizabeth marching towards him angrily.

"Everything you said to be was a lie, wasn't it?" she accused. "You never planned to save Will! You were just going to offer him and Sora's friend as payment!"

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I was considering saving the boys," Jack replied. "Leaning closely to it, in fact." He shrugged in innocence. "I do lie every now and then. Time and tide, love." He looked over to Will, who had stepped over to the chest and bent over before it. "Oye, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to kill Jones," Will replied harshly.

Not taking such a chance, Jack's hand shot to Elizabeth's waist, where his own sword was being kept. He snatched it out of the harness and placed it at Will's shoulder. "William, I'm afraid I can't allow that."

"Why not?" Will spat angrily.

"You're being very unreasonable about this, you know." Jack put more pressure on the sword, pressing blade lightly into Will's coat. "Simple fact, nobody can call off Jones' terrible beastie from the hunt if the good captain kicks it." Will, grumbling, rose from his seated position. "Now please, give me the key." But after he had risen, Will remained defiant, pulling Elizabeth's sword from her harness.

"Hey!" Elizabeth protested.

"Whoa!" Sora backed away from the scene nervously. "Is this necessary?"

"I'm not going to break my promise," Will affirmed. "I am going to free my father, Jack. I hope you get to see it." Another sword was pointed at Will, this one belonging to Norrington.

"I can't let you do that either," he informed. "My apologies, Turner. That bit about your father was touching."

"I knew you'd warm up to me," Jack spoke warmly, moving towards Norrington, only to jump back when the sword was now being pointed at him. Will moved his sword to cover Norrington, and Jack stood in a confused fashion before he pointed his sword at Will again.

"Not likely," Norrington smirked. "I know that Lord Beckett desires the content of that chest. I deliver it to him, he delivers me the reward. I'll finally get my life back."

"Oh, but it's too late," Jack warned. "You're becoming a pirate already. You've embraced the dark side of ambition."

Norrington chuckled menacingly. "I prefer to see it as the promise of redemption." He swung his sword at Jack first, who blocked it with a simple movement. Jack swiped Norrington's weapon aside and made a swipe at Will, who also pushed the swinging metal aside.

"Guys, stop!" Sora summoned his Keyblade and tried to interject. He went for Norrington first. Norrington deflected the Keyblade and shoved Sora to the sandy ground with his body. Then Will aimed for Norrington and Jack ducked between the two, swiping the key from Will's wrist. While the group took off after Jack, Sora rose to his feet and tried to chase. "Why are you fighting each other? There are bigger problems out here!" Fate taunted Sora when several Heartless, in the Sky Soldier variety, circling him and Elizabeth, considering that the chest.

Norrington kicked Will, pushing him back towards Sora and Elizabeth. Within moments, Will was back on his feet. "Guard the chest!" he managed to say before sprinting back into action, fighting for the key as well.

"Wait!" Elizabeth charged through the crowd of Heartless after Will. Sora tried to follow, but a Sky Soldier darted in front of his path and tried to swipe at him. Sora pushed the blow aside with his Keyblade. With a grumble, he swiped back at the Heartless.

"This is madness!" Elizabeth cried, several feet away from the duel that was happening over the key to Jones' chest. "Fighting isn't going to solve your problems! Oh, wait a second: maybe it will. That's possible. But that doesn't matter to you, does it? I've had it with trying to reason with wobbly-legged, rum-soaked, _pirates!_" She searched the surrounding sand for rocks, which she proceeded to lob pathetically towards the fight, trying to stop it.

Just a few feet behind her, Ragetti and Steven had come over to see what the commotion was all about. Pintel shuffled across the sand to join them moments later. and the three looked upon the scene with a surprised gaze.

"What's all this?" Pintel wondered.

"This thing went all screwy," Ragetti replied. "What're you making of this, Stevie?"

"Well, each one wants the chest for himself," Steven explained. "Jack obviously wants to get out of his debt to Jones, very understandable. Will wants to use it to free his cursed pirate father from Jones. And..." He paused, drawing a blank on the third fighter. "What's the third guy's deal? I've never seen him before."

"That's the former commodore," Pintel explained. "He's looking to regain some honor with that."

"How?" Steven asked.

"Getting employed by the East India Trading Company by giving it to Beckett."

The three took a moment to bitterly recognize the name of the man who had them thrown in jail. "I hope he doesn't win," Steven grumbled. "But...if they're all right there, where's the chest?" His eyes panned across the area, quickly spotting Sora surrounded by Sky Soldiers, becoming a little too crowded. "Holy-!" Within seconds, Steven had sprinted over, calling his Keyblade to his hand and thrusting it at the nearest Heartless. "Need a hand, Sora?"

Sora sliced a Heartless that was being particularly elusive, scattering its remains with his weapon. "Yeah." He smiled a bit. "Your blade would probably be more helpful, though."

"I can provide both," Steven assured. He smiled back and jumped upward and pitched his Keyblade forward. The obsidian weapon dove through two Sky Soldiers and knocked a third off-course before returning to its master's hand.

On the sidelines, Pintel and Ragetti turned their gaze just away from the fighting, seeing the chest. "With all this fighting, that chest must be worth a pretty penny," Pintel assumed. "Terrible temptation, that is."

Ragetti was already making his way towards it. "Then maybe we ought to be decent men and remove such a temptation from their grasp."

"You're really back, mate!" Pintel cackled, picking up his pace to join his friend. He gripped one handle on the side of the chest.

Elizabeth threw one last rock at the fight, then bellowed out at them. "Enough!" With a small sigh, she tried flaunting herself a little bit, pretending to become exhausted. "Oh, the heat!" she yelled as loudly as she could, then purposely tilted her body towards the sand and falling softly onto it. She barely opened up her eyes, and she could see that the fight had not even paused for a second to come running to her false aid. With a small pout, she plopped onto the ground, sitting with her arms crossed in an annoyed fashion. But a moment later, she became aware of sudden absence of the chest and jumped to her feet to follow the thieves.

Sora and Steven had finished off many of the Heartless, but they soon twitched and started to stray from the Keybearers. "What?" Sora looked in the direction where they were moving to, and he could see Elizabeth chasing Pintel and Ragetti, who both carried the chest. "They have the heart!" he cried.

"You stay here and finish the remains off!" Steven replied, stabbing through a Heartless before he sprinted forward. "I gotta help my boys!"

"Alright!" Sora nodded. "I'll try to break up the fight." He cut into another Heartless before he charged for the three-way swordfight, which the remaining Heartless followed as well.

Norrington and Will were ganging up on Jack, who currently had the key. But the less competition, the better. So Norrington turned on Will and pushed him to the sand. He kicked some of it up and into Will's eyes, which blinded him momentarily. "By your leave, Mister Turner," he smirked before sprinting towards Jack again. Will was phased briefly, but rose to his feet before long, Sora speeding by him and heading for Norrington and Jack. All four men sprinted for a grassy array of bushes just beyond where the sand was thickest.

Norrington was the first to follow Jack, chasing him inside a stone bell tower. Jack advanced up the stairs, unintentionallyslowing himself down enough for Norrington to catch up. They dueled a bit on the way up the stairs, and Norrington forced a sword lock. He pushed at Jack, who pushed back. Norrington wound up turning Jack around and forced him agains the wall. The impact impaired Jack a little, and Norrington grabbed the key. Jack swung his weapon at Norrington's hand, but ended up slicing through air. Norrington whirled around, pushing Jack over the side of the stairwell.

Before this happened, Will and Sora found their way inside. Will noticed that Jack was about to grip the rope to the bell. He grabbed the other end and the force behind it was powerful enough to lift him. He plucked the key out of Norrington's hand and was quickly hauled to the top of the tower. The bell rang loudly as the rope gathered at the bottom. "By _your_ leave, Mr. Norrington!"

Norrington grumbled, then took the stairs to get up higher. Sora, meanwhile, used the unsupported falling bell as a spring. He jumped onto it, then jumped up to the top of the tower, following Will outside onto a damaged wall of stone. Will looked to Sora with a nervous gaze, not sure why he was here. "I don't want to fight you, Sora."

"I'm not here to fight you," Sora assured. "I want you all to just stop fighting. The Heartless are here, and Jones probably isn't too far behind if he knows we're after his chest. We need to get out of here now!"

* * *

From beneath the shallow waters near the shore, the abnormal creatures of Davy Jones' crew pushed their way to the surface. Marching over the small dune to the chests' burial site, they saw that the case had been cracked open and the chest was stolen. Footprints of those in the area were everywhere, but the majority of them took off in the direction of the western part of the island, where the church bell was ringing.

* * *

Unfortunately for Sora, Norrington had less peaceful intentions than he did. No sooner had Sora talked Will down that he stepped out of the church across the stone wall. Sora turned and faced the former Commodore. "Stop fighting, Norrington! We have bigger problems!"

"If solving this problem doesn't give me what I once had, I'm very shy on interest." Norrington lunged forward with his sword, and Sora was left with the only choice: to defend himself. His Keyblade's appearance hardly phased Norrington, who was too blinded by greed to care. "Out of my way, boy!"

"Sora!" Will raised his arm to point towards the beach. "Look!"

Sora shoved Norrington away from him and spared a look to where Will pointed. It was vague, but he could see several forms coming up from the water, and none of them looked like Heartless. "What is it?"

"Jones knows we're here," Will replied dismally. "Find Elizabeth and protect her!" Sora almost protested, but Norrington was rearing back on him again, upon which Sora had to swing back, catching his opponent in a sword lock. "Go!" Will demanded. "I'll be fine."

Sora broke the lock and batted Norrington's sword before jumping off of the church's low wall and landing on the soft grass. With no more reason to hang around, he was headed off into the jungle. Norrington had no reason to care, because Sora didn't have the key. Will did.

Will hopped across a small gap, from one stone wall to another, dueling Norrington while traversing it. He struck a few parrying strikes before he moved along the wall. The former commodore was quick to follow, giving Will little time to breathe before he was on the offensive again. They turned a corner on the array of stone walls, stepping up onto the building's roof.

The third contender would soon join them. Jack was finally getting up the stairs, and casually strolled across one of the walls with expert balance to get to the roof. Norrington whirled to the other side of the roof, grabbing the key from Will and holding it in his left hand, out where Jack could easily pluck it.

That is, if he could find an opening. He poked his hand near the key, but had to lean back to avoid the swing of a sword. Jack moved for the key again, but tugged his hand back again when it was pulled out of his reach. Will struck at Norrington, which left Jack another opportunity. He swiftly ripped it from his opponent's grasp, but now had to contend with Norrington and Will simultaneously. His sword moved up and down to swipe the weapons aside until it got locked in between both, and flung off the roof to his right. Now both swords were pointed at him threateningly.

Norrington turned to face Will, speaking for a moment. "Excuse me for a moment while I kill the man who ruined my life."

"He's all yours," Will replied.

"My fault?" Jack repeated. "I'd like to examine that claim, if you don't mind." Norrington advanced, but Jack spoke quickly. "When you had me, a treacherous pirate ready to put behind bars, who saw fit to help that pirate escape and take your cherished Elizabeth all to hisself?" Norrington's glare faltered, as his thoughts turned to Will, and Jack smiled. "So, former Commodore, whose fault is it _really_ that you wound up a drunk deck-hand what takes orders from pirates?"

"Enough!" Norrington took a sloppy swipe from rage, which Jack ducked away from, then jumped off of the roof in a frontflip towards the grassy terrain below. Norrington took a deep, angry breath. "Unfortunately, Mister Turner...he's _right_!" He thrust his sword at Will, who was instantly put on the defensive while Jack landed on the ground, finding his lost sword and placing the key around his neck.

"Still rooting for you, mate!" Jack assured, making his way off. He wore a triumphant smile on his face. Sora had departed the area, his other two opponents were occupied with fighting each other, and he was free, in the clear, and-

His thoughts were interrupted when he failed to watch where his steps led him, which by a massive case of bad luck wound up to be in an empty grave, at least three feet above his head and just slightly beyond his reach. "Oh bugger."

Will and Norrington's fight took them off of the roof to the top of a water wheel that was still attached to the side of the building. Unfortunately, this building was quite ancient, as water wheels were very out of practice by now. As a result, it hadn't turned for years and was now rotting, which would explain why it started to creak loudly when Will and Norrington started fighting on top of it. It took only a few seconds for it to snap away from the building and start to roll, crushing down the grass and the graves in the cemetery. This simple battle had added the element of balance to the already-complex equation.

Jack jumped up, reaching his arms over the edge of the grave he had fallen into edged upward, pulling his upper body above ground. He smiled in triumph, but frowned when he heard a distinct noise coming from behind him. He considered dropping back into the grave, but the decision was taken away from him when the water wheel crashed over his head. It broke open a hatched, trapping Jack's upper body inside the wheel and leaving his legs flailing on the outside. It brought him up towards the ongoing fight, interrupting it for a few seconds when he passed through.

But the worst part came was that when Jack came upside down, the key started sliding, and when he was vertically backwards, the key dropped off of his neck and into the wheel, making a clatter until its leather string hooked around a nail inside of the wheel.

The clattering noise it made was not missed by Will or Norrington, and they devised a plan to get inside the wheel as they continued to fight. Jack, meanwhile, just had to let the wheel roll its course until it became flat on his section, upon which he ran forward, reaching for the key.

"Come to Jackie!" he cackled, but took one factor out of account. This factor took the form of a metal bar inside of the wheel, which he noticed only moments too late. "You're all-" His head bashed into it as he ran just a hair too long, and Jack toppled sideways out of the wheel, landing in the array of overgrown grass it rolled over.

* * *

Pintel and Ragetti made it into the jungle before too long. It seemed Elizabeth had lost the trail, but the Heartless were still in hot pursuit. "This is your fault!" Pintel replied. "You should've known that they would chase us for the heart!"

"But taking the chest was your idea!" Ragetti complained.

"Talk me out of it, then! You're the rational one of us!" Pintel complained.

Their squabble was cut short when a Sky Soldier crossed their path, causing them to yell and jump back, though having a firm refusal to let go of the chest. The Heartless charged, but was keeled in the side by a spinning Keyblade, which flew a quick circle around the pair of pirates before returning to the hand of their savior. "Actually," Steven smiled, "I think we can agree that it's me."

"We owe you our lives, mate," Pintel gasped in relief.

"Don't mention it. It's what I do." Steven stepped ahead of them, dismissing his Keyblade as he walked. "Stay sharp. There'll probably be more on our way." Pintel and Ragetti followed, carrying the chest between them.

"So what do we do now?" Ragetti asked. "There's more that are gonna be here, aye?"

"Aye," Steven agreed. "We have to prepare for anything that gets in our way." His words were proven as he looked ahead. "Whoa!" He stumbled a little bit to stop before a woman in pirate's attire. "See what I mean?"

Pintel and Ragetti recognized the woman as Elizabeth and froze briefly. Elizabeth smiled at their shocked expressions and reached for her sword, which hung from her left side on her belt. Or at least she thought it did. He hand clasped around a non-existent hilt for a few moments before realizing that Will had swiped her sword. "Oh...er...hehe.." she chuckled nervously.

Pintel and Ragetti exchanged a dumbfounded glance at each other before they dropped the chest to the ground and slowly unsheathed their own swords. "Why, 'ello poppet," Pintel greeted nastily.

"Guys, please," Steven held up his hands. "I've got this." He stepped forward. "Now ma'am, we don't have to resort to this. We can discuss it peacefully and come to-" His focus was momentarily thrown off when he looked off to his left, as did the others. The wheel carrying Will and Norrington was rolling past them, and the fight was still fiercly continuing. Bringing up the rear was Jack, who ran with his arms held forward slightly.

"Weird," Steven noted. He turned back towards Elizabeth to see her fist headed straight for his face. It made direct contact with his right cheek and knocked him to the ground. "Ow!" he shouted, clutching the side of his face before he rose, and suddenly he recognized the woman beneath her disguise. "Wait a second...Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth took a momen to realize who she was speaking to now. "Steven?" She gasped in surprise, regretting that she had punched him. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Fighting for the chest, same as everybody else." He seethed loudly at the pain he was feeling. "Jeez! What was that for?"

"What do you think?" Elizabeth snapped. "I'm trying to get the chest to a safe place until the men decide who gets to hold onto the key!"

"But I was trying to do the same thing!" Steven protested.

Elizabeth gasped. "Really? Then why are we fighting?"

"_We_? I did nothing!" Steven said accusingly. "_You_ punched me in the face!"

"You were in my path!" Elizabeth replied firmly.

"You didn't even let me explain myself!" Steven pointed out angrily. "...And you punched me in the face!"

"You didn't tell me what you were doing either!" Elizabeth pointed out. "I thought you were just running off with those two!" She gasped after she had pointed, causing Steven to look back and face his friends. But he couldn't do so, as they were already running away, their weapons left behind as they carried the chest in between themselves.

"Guys!" Steve called. "What the heck-?" Then he started to see the ground around him and Elizabeth. They were starting to be circled by blotches of darkness, from which Heartless began to emerge. "Leave this to me!" he told Elizabeth. "You get out of here!"

"Are you mad?" Elizabeth protested. "You have no idea how dangerous these things are!"

"You and I have only spoken once, right?" Steven smirked slightly before he summoned his Keyblade, showing it to Elizabeth. "I've got one too," he informed before he ran in the direction Pintel and Ragetti had gone and cut aside a few Heartless, leaving the two pirates' swords unguarded. "Arm yourself and go!"

Without hesitation, Elizabeth rushed over and picked up the swords and started to run after Pintel and Ragetti. Steven stayed behind briefly to take care of the Heartless. "Come on!" he challenged. "Come get me!" The Heartless took this as a challenge, and one of them charged at him, but only charged through the obsidian Keyblade as Steven thrust it forward. His momentum continued when he whirled his Keyblade around him once to cut in a circle, eradicating some and injuring others.

"There they are!" Steven heard a growling voice just ahead of him, and he looked forward to see several sea creature sailors from Jones' crew, and they were pointing towards his three companions, who currently held the chest.

"This is one reunion I'd prefer not to have," Steven muttered to himself. "Fire!" He raised his Keyblade and cast the spell, creating a ring of fire around him and setting fire to his surrounding enemies. This cleared the way for him to run off after his companions.

The hammer-head shark sailor was near the head of the pack, marching forward. "You ain't getting away from us!" he cried, plunging a large axe into one of the burning Heartless. Chains, clubs, and swords from his fellow crew members came down upon the weakened creatures as well, but they weren't met without resistance. Some of the Heartless recovered and leapt at them. A few fell beneath the attack of the Heartless, and it was chaos for all if even one attacked one of their crew members.

Elizabeth ran with both swords in her hands. She dared to look back for a moment, and she could see Steven running for them, having just left Jones' men with quite the distraction to deal with, but one that would not hold them for long. "That should buy us a minute!" he cried, still running as he spoke. "Get the chest!" Pintel and Ragetti heeded this without so much as saying a word. They took up the chest between the two of them and took off for the beach.

Then, just as quickly as the distraction had arrived for them, the crew of the _Dutchma_n had pounded the last Heartless and were now sprinting through the jungle at the four running ahead of them. Their physique was a useful help to them as they sprinted rapidly through the long grass spanning the distance to their targets.

Pintel and Ragetti spared a quick look to see them approaching, and they began to panic. They picked up the pace, wordlessly cuing their two allies to do the same. They had grown even more rushed, however, and Pintel and Ragetti failed to navigate around a tree ahead of them. Instead, they wound up ramming the chest into it, where it dropped to the ground. Their pause to try and get it cost them the lead that they had received and Jones' men were almost upon them, now.

From the other direction, the all-too familiar Heartless continued their spontaneous appearance. The group was stuck with a fight. That fact was unavoidable. Half-complaining and half-smirking, Steven stood his ground as they charged. "Nice to see you again!" he taunted, leaping back into the fray of Heartless, upon which he starting to strike without pause at them. To his left, Elizabeth was crossing her swords in a scissor fashion to block a thick weapon smashing against her swords.

Steven was the first to really get into action. "Gather!" He cast a Magnet spell, attracting some of the surrounding Heartless into a small spiral. He hopped up lightly and swung his Keyblade at the array of Heartless, eliminating some of them as they floated.

Elizabeth pushed away her first opponent and swung first at his weapon, then his stomach. It was a successful distract-and-attack tactic, and it brought him to the forest floor. Her stride was only beginning, and she batted aside a few more weapons before she cut another another down.

Amidst them striking against their enemies, they failed to notice one of Jones' men picking up the abandoned chest and running off with it.

* * *

Jack's desire to get the heart had allowed him to get back to his feet quickly, running after the rolling water wheel. He waited for the opportune moment, something he was very good at, and stepped into the wheel. The key had stayed where it was, hooked on a nail that stuck out inside the wheel. Things were going good so far.

Up top, Will and Norrington were both looking for a way into the wheel. Will was the first to find a good opening when he lost his footing and landed on his stomach. The wheel rolled to a point where he was able to pull himself inside the wheel. He had conveniently landed near the key, which he promptly snatched up as he came in.

Jack, still running near whatever part of the wheel rolled beneath his feet, took up his sword again. Will was in a precarious position. He was hanging from the wheel's outside edge with one hand and waving his sword in the other to deflect Jack's strikes. But even so, Norrington was also fiercely trying to acquire the key, so it wasn't long before he swung into the crazy loop of a fight as well.

The fight itself was complex without the dizzying effects of the wheel. Add that in and the whole ordeal would become much more complicated for any normal fighter. But these three weren't normal, as one would know from being around them.

The three men were forced to shift their weight at every turn to keep up with the motions as well as defend themselves. Norrington struck at Jack, having to take hold of an outside edge to keep himself steady. In response, Jack blocked it and stepped away with the moving Will to take a hit at Will, who dodged this attack by allowing himself to drop to the bottom and run there before gripping another edge.

Jack was the next to reach the bottom, but he rushed it with this particular transition. He grabbed the key and pulled on it. Will kept a grip on the piece of string that served as a support for hanging the key They both tugged hard, and Jack was blessed with the key while Will stared at the string with a stunned expression.

This was Jack's moment. He had the key, so this ordeal needed to end. Especially since the jungle wasn't endless, meaning that the beach probably wasn't terribly far from here. Will was forced closer to the top on the next rotation, followed by Jack. An edge presented itself to Jack, and the pirate used it to haul himself to the top of the wheel. His timing couldn't have been better, because the next moment presented him an opportunity to grab the long branch of a palm tree, which he took. After he had lifted himself from the wheel, he noticed it picking up speed. Will and Norrington's yells were heard as the wheel started rolling down a slant, leaving the area very quickly.

"My luck could not be any better," Jack mused. The branch gave way from his weight and he dropped to the ground, landing on his feet. He surveyed the surrounding area for only a moment before spotting ones of Jones' men running into the area. "I spoke too soon," Jack realized. For in the sailor's hands was the chest that the key he held went to. Jack calmly picked up one of the coconuts, tossed it up in his hand, and then hurled it at the crew member.

The fallen fruit collided with the side of the sailor's head, which not only knocked him and the chest to the ground, but also disconnected the sailor's head clean from his head. Unfortunately, this did not render the sailor dead.

"Oh, God," the head grumbled. "Okay, body! Follow my voice!" The body slow arose from where it was, stumbling around in the area as it tried to find its head while Jack walked over to the chest without a care in the world and knelt before it. "Follow my voice! Go to the right. The right! No, not into-" The body bumped into a trunk very roughly and toppled to the ground. "-the tree," the sailor's head finished dismally.

"Will you shut it?" Jack complained. "I'm trying to concentrate." He pulled up the key and inserted it carefully into the lock and turned it once to the left. Four rectangular latches stuck out from the front and rendered the lid unstuck. Jack placed a hand on either side of the chest and opened it up.

Inside rested exactly what he coveted: the heart of Davy Jones. It was not a heart like those which arose from the Heartless, but a real, beating heart. A few tubes protruded from the heart, a gross shade of pink covered in veins of white giving it the slimy look it had.

Jack didn't have time to reflect on such a thing, though. He looked ahead of himself to see the rest of Jones' crew bursting through. At the head of the pack were Elizabeth, Steven, Pintel, and Ragetti, running furiously from them and a group of Heartless that soon followed. Remembering that he now had the heart, Jack stuffed it into his jacket and slammed the chest shut. The latches that kept it shut retracted as he left empty container up for grabs.

* * *

"Sword!"

Elizabeth tossed one of her swords to Pintel upon hearing that call. This system of tossing swords back and forth brought suitable defense to those who were in danger and in need of a weapon.

"Steve!"

This was Steven's cue from whoever required it, this time from Ragetti, to come and take out a group of Heartless. Jones' men were very durable, and conventional means weren't killing them. Heartless, however, were more dangerous and much easier to kill.

"The chest!" This was not a cue, but a call from Steven to alert them to the presence of the chest, which they hadn't noticed was missing due to their focus being turned towards the fighting.

Pintel and Ragetti tossed both of their swords to Elizabeth and sped off. Elizabeth parried two strikes and cut down two of Jones' sailors. She turned to face the other way and flipped her grip on the two weapons and stabbed backwards, subduing two more. She was the next to take off after the chest.

Steven, meanwhile, was stuck. As the other three got away, he was the new focus of attention for Heartless and sea-men alike. "Get back!" he yelled, batting aside a Heartless before holding up his blade to block a weapon, having to push it off less than a second later to strike at another pouncing Heartless. It was getting too hectic for now, and he needed a dispersion.

"Wind!" Steven watched as a voice other than his own cried these words, created a small tornado that swept up Jones' men and Heartless alike. He jumped away from the fray to catch a glimpse, but another person ran past him.

"Sora!" Steven realized.

"Follow my lead!" Sora called. He jumped towards the tornado, using a Heartless that stuck out at the brim of the twister and used it as a stepping stone to get closer to the top. Steven jumped up and followed him, using many sailors as springs to further his progress. Sora was the first to reach the top and increased his jump so that he was suspended above the mouth of the magic spiral he'd created. "Gravity!" A large, black sphere pushed down on the tornado, compressing it and increasing the speed of the tornado.

While Sora dove towards the ground on the other side of the tornado, Steven came up that side and jumped shortly after Sora called his spell. He hopped above the tornado as well and pointed his Keyblade at the spinning array of enemies. "Gravity!" This pushed the already-squished tornado into the ground, completely dissapating it and crushing anything that was inside. When the magic cleared, the Heartless inside were gone and the sailors caught in it were spread out across the ground. Satisfied, both Keyblade wielders took off after their friends.

"About time, Sora!" Steven exclaimed. "I was being overwhelmed there!"

"I show up just in time," Sora replied, sprinting alongside his friend. "That's my specialty."

"A couple minutes ago would've been a little better," Steven retorted. "Just a suggestion."

Pintel and Ragetti took head of the charge, picking up the chest between them and running back for the beach. Elizabeth followed up in afterward, carrying both swords belong to the men running ahead of her. Following up were the Keyblade wielders, who had just left a small patch of disarray behind them. Trailing behind them still were Jones' men, charging at the rear to do what little they could. Through it all, nobody seemed to noticed the absence of Heartless who would be trying to claim the chest.

* * *

The beach was virtually abandoned when Jack arrived. The lone longboat had drifted a little away from the shore, but was not far from him at all. The water splashed beneath his feet while he ran towards it. The heart of Jones was tucked safely beneath his jacket, but it wasn't safe there at all. Fortunately, there was a safer, less obvious cover for it.

"Jar of dirt!" Jack declared when he reached the boat. He opened up the large container that he carried with him and poured a small mound of it into the boat. He pulled the organ from his jacket and set it inside. "Thank you Tia!" he muttered happily to himself before he claspec some dirt from the boat in his hand, scooping it back into the jar to cover up the heart.

But just as he had deposited the jar back into the boat, he ducked aside from an air strike. A Sky Soldier Heartless floated above him. The Heartless had followed Jack to the boat because he possessed the actual heart. "Get away!" he cried, picking up an oar and batting at the Heartless with it. "I got it first, so I've got dibs!" One Heartless snuck up behind Jack, but the pirate turned and swung the oar, knocking the Heartless aside and into another one, with both crashing to the water and fading away.

The small triumph was more shallow than the water Jack stood in. He knew there'd be many more on the way, after the heart. This proved very dangerous, and Jack knew he wasn't the most capable at fighting an enemy like this. So he tried to cry out for somebody who was. "Nora! If you hear me, I could use that key right now!"

"It's _Sora_!" Jack sighed in relief when he heard his friend's voice, but frowned when he saw the crowd that was trailing behind him.

Elizabeth handled Jones' crewmen very well on her own. Strikes were coming at her from nearly everywhere, yet she defended herself like an expert. She pushed any weapons aside that she could, then made an attack at their lower bodies.

Sora's fighting was different. He actually allowed himself to be surrounded by Jones' men. When too many were upon them, he crouched below their eyeline and cast a Reflect spell around him. The crewmen caught sight of him in time to strike, but too late to beat the shield that surrounded Sora. Their attacks were deflected and the shield dispersed, harming them further and allowing Sora to make strikes of his own.

Steven, in the meantime, was stuck in a pretty overwhelming style of fighting. He had to constantly swing around himself to bat away a weapon, not gaining a lot of wiggle room to cast any form of spell to combat his adversaries better. "Give me a break!" he growled, swinging his Keyblade from one side to another, and then back again to gain him some ground.

The chaos was lessened when Will and Norrington came back into the picture. The water wheel that had carried them through the vast jungle rolled through the water, pushing various sea-sailors beneath the water and flattening a larger amount of Heartless near Jack. The water created enough friction to slow the wheel's powerful momentum, causing it to finally slow down and tip over into the water. It created a ring of water around the area where it splashed down, tossing the two occupants into the water contained within the wheel.

Steven blinked in momentary surprise. "That'll do, I guess." The moment of shock was broken and the combatants who had been staring in awe at the passing wheel returned to their fights. Some of the sailors, of course, were in too much pain due to the wheel bowling over them, and they were not going to rise for a while.

Will dizzily pulled himself over the wheel's edge to see the brawl through his blurred vision. "Right!" he declared. He swung his legs over the side, but his limbs didn't quite agree with him and he tumbled into the water. Will rose to his knees, only to stumble again. Norrington had a pretty bad tumble into the water as well, but he walked with a withdrawn stance, keeping to himself a lot until he could maintain a decent balance by holding onto the edge of the longboat. Once there, he pawed greedily at Jack's coat, searching it barely a second before he found the letters of marque. With a smile, he tucked them inside his coat, then tossed Jack's back into the boat, right next to a pile of dirt, resting beside a jar of it...

Pintel and Ragetti cackled as they ran for the boat, still carrying the chest between them. Ignoring as Norrington shuffled away from the boat, they tossed the chest into it and started pushing the wooden vessel out to sea. It came to a halt when Will recovered and placed his hand on the boat's nose, pointing his sword at the two pirates. They both chuckled, reaching for their swords, only to realized that Elizabeth had them while they were fumbling at empty space. Improvising, Pintel grabbed and oar and Ragetti picked up a net. "Come on, Turner!" Pintel challenged.

Will only kept his smile until he spotted the chest inside the boat. Conveniently, Pintel and Ragetti were forced on the defensive when sailors began to approach them. Will commuted himself over to the chest, picking it up with both hands. What he believed would save his father was in his grasp. Jack knew this, and he batted away an incoming sailor with an oar before whirling around and knocking Will out cold with a well-placed smack of his face.

Elizabeth ran back to the boat when she saw her fiance tipped over the edge, unconscious. "Will!" she cried, concerned. She shook him a bit, trying to wake him.

"He's fine!" Jack promised. "Just leave him lie, unless you're going to hit something with him."

By this point, Sora, Steven, Pintel, Ragetti, and Norrington had all been backed to the boat by Jones' men and Heartless, being advanced at from one side.

"We aren't getting out of this!" Sora realized, striking down one Heartless.

"Not with the chest," Norrington concluded, picking it up. "Everyone into the boat!" he demanded.

"You're mad!" Elizabeth yelled.

Norrington looked at Elizabeth sternly. "Don't wait for me." He charged forward, swiping aside one of the swords and cutting through a Heartless before he ran for shore, gaining all attention towards himself and drawing every enemy away from the boat.

Steven was the first to hop into the boat. "All in favor of honoring his final wish say 'aye'!"

"Aye!" Everyone instantly agreed, huddling inside the boat quickly. Elizabeth pulled Will's knocked-out body in with them, keeping his head in her lap as Pintel and Ragetti locked in the oars and started to row back towards the _Pearl_.

* * *

Norrington's chase was unfortunately coming to a close very quickly. He leaped and ran through the jungle, but hastened to much to see potential slips he could make. Due to this, he ended up tripping, dropping both the chest and his sword ahead of him. He crawled in a panicked fashion across the jungle floor and grabbed the chest. He took the sword in one hand, but the blade's flat was stepped on, pinned to the ground. Norrington's eyes slowly trailed up to see the conch shell sailor, holding his detatched head in his hand. The head, still moving, smiled nastily.

"Your bravery is for naught. Your sacrifice wasted." Norrington, keeping the chest at hand, rose to his feet carefully before the crowd surrounding him. "You cannot run, and I will enjoy prying the chest away from your cold, _dead_ hands."

Norrington's head shifted to one side, then averted back to the sailor. He thrust his arms forward, releasing the chest. "Here you go!" It flew away from him and landed in the surprised arms of the sailor, who dropped his head in order to catch it. He broke into a very panicked run. The sailors laughed at him scampering away like a scared puppy and made their way off.

"Hey! What about me?" The conch shell sailor had forgotten his head. "Body, get back here! Hey! Ugh!...Pirates," he scoffed distastefully. He curled up within his shell-head and allowed a hermit crab form to be let free. He then scuttled across the jungle floor, following the rest of the crew.

Through it all, the Heartless and the sailors ignored each other. The sailors left to bring the chest back to their captain, where it belonged. The Heartless took off after Norrington, trailing behind, but still in pursuit, none the less.

* * *

**THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY!**

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that this chapter took so long. I was in a huge writing slump for the past few months, but I believe that I'm coming back. I split the final Dead Man's Chest chapter in two, so Chapter 19 will follow soon after this one.**


	19. All Debts Repaid

"Is he awake?" Sora asked.

Elizabeth was resting Will on the deck of the ship until he would awaken. "No, but he's getting closer." He was getting closer, and before long his head twitched a bit and Will was opening up his eyes.

"He's awake!" Steven observed as he walked over. "We gotta make sure he's alright, though." He leaned over Will and looked him in the eyes and pointing at himself. "Will, what's my name?"

Will blinked softly a couple times. "Steven," he answered with a hint of confusion.

"He's alright, people!" Steven announced, attracting a couple of looks. "Will is alright!"

"Your name?" Sora asked. "Do you do that for everybody you find unconscious?"

"Pretty much," Steven replied. "It's usually a good test. For some reason, it doesn't work too well on people I've never met..." With a shrug, he went towards the rail, where Pintel and Ragetti were trying to raise the longboat.

"You're pulling too hard!" Ragetti complained.

"You're not pulling hard enough!" Pintel shot back.

"Just pull it evenly, why don't you?" Steven advised, coming into the area, then demonstrated a pulling technique to it.

Meanwhile, Will blinked several times, waking himself up. He looked up at Elizabeth with a small smile, but it was wiped away when his mind recollected the nature of a certain thought. "Where's the chest?"

Elizabeth's relief was also wiped away when he asked. "Norrington took it to draw them off," she replied dismally.

Gibbs approached Jack immediately after the captain had exited the boat. "Where's the commodore?"

"He fell behind," Jack informed. "So he was left behind."

Gibbs sighed. "My prayers be with him," he mulled over. Then he lead a wide smile overtake him. "But let's not wallow in our grief. There is a bright side to all this!" He followed Jack quickly to the wheel of the ship. "You made it back safely, and now you're free and clear!" He took a look at the jar of dirt and frowned a bit. "Er...you are clear, aye?"

"I am, Mister Gibbs," Jack smiled, patting the jar. "I doubt Jones will find reason to bother us for a little while."

_WHOOOSH!_

A rush of water made its escape from the ocean. The _Flying Dutchman_ had been in waiting beneath the water's surface. Now that the _Black Pearl_ had ventured into open water, the two ship faced each other. The _Pearl_'s crew all showed some form of shock, the most prominent being that Pintel and Ragetti released the harnesses on the boat, sending it falling towards Steven.

"Whoa!" Steven held up his hands, catching the boat around the middle, but beginning to struggle to keep it aloft while it wobbled.

"Here," Sora said, stepping beneath the boat to lend his support to it as well. Between the two of them, it was balanced out.

"What the heck, guys?" Steven complained. "Why did you drop it? I could've-" He and Sora turned around as he spoke, and they both ceased their casual actions when they saw the _Dutchman_. Their arms flailed a bit, also dropping the boat to the deck of the ship.

The crew of the _Dutchman_ jeered loudly at the sailors and fighters opposite them. They bared their weapons, standing on the edge of their ship as they prepared to battle, should a boarding come into play. At the ship's head, Jones stood at the railing, smiling widely in Jack's general direction.

"Lord on high, deliver us," Gibbs whispered to himself.

"Not a worry, lads!" Jack declared. Elizabeth cleared her throat for him. "And lass," he corrected. "I can handle this." He stepped closer to the railing and held the jar of dirt high above his head. "Oi, fishface!" he taunted. This insult garnered Jones' attention. "Have you lost something, mate? Squiddy? Captain Octopus? Scungilli!" It was the last insult Jack yelled at Jones before he fumbled at the top of the stairs, tipping over his side and tumbling down to the deck. The entire crew winced at this display, but Jack held the jar up for view again. "Still got it!" he yelled. He hopped to his feet and paced across the side of the ship confidently. "Come to negotiate, you slimy git? Well, so did I. And look what I've got!" Jack held the jar and began to make a stirring motion with it, dancing while he sang in victory. "_I got a jar of dirt, I got a jar of dirt, and guess what's inside it?_"

Jones whirled around to face his crew, an thoroughly annoyed expression upon his face. "That's enough!" he barked. Planks on the side of his ship parted and expelled some of the water still left on the ship. In the openings, cannons were rolled out and were pointed at the _Pearl_.

Jack's confident smile was gone before the first cannon had even become visible. "Hard to starboard."

"Hard to starboard!" Elizabeth shrieked.

"Brace up the foreyard!" Will followed up.

Gibbs was at the wheel, and he spun the wheel madly to the right-hand side, whirling the ship in the direction of its starboard side. The _Pearl_ turned much more quickly than one would expect a ship to turn, practically facing the opposite direction with in thirty seconds.

Jones could see this, and needed to match these orders. "Hard to starboard!" he bellowed. "Pursue them! Send his precious _Pearl_ back where it came from!"

"Fire all!" the hammer-head sailor yelled to the crew. While the _Dutchman_ turned to follow its opposing ship, it started to fire off its cannons. The ones farthest from the _Pearl_ missed their mark, but the couple that were angled just enough crashed through the back of the ship, turning the captain's cabin into a wreck.

At the wheel, Gibbs flinched violently when a small lantern nearby was shattered by one of the cannonbals. "Master Sora!" Gibbs shouted. "Can you redirect their fire!"

"I can try!" Sora replied, rushing into the cabin. Steven heard the order for Sora and rushed to help him. The two rushed for the place where the cabin's window had been and stepped cautiously out onto the edge. They both gulped when the _Dutchman_ completed its turn, now heading directly at the _Pearl_. "They're onto us!" Sora yelled to the ship loudly. "Again, they are on our tail!"

This created a small panic among the crew, and they raced to make any adjustments needed to make the ship go faster. The tugged at the sails, made sure the wind was in their favor, and hoped for a miracle. Pintel and Ragetti desperately petted the side rail for their reassurance. "Come on, baby!" Pintel whimpered hopefully. "Show us what you can do!"

Jones' sailors completed the transition, now in direct pursuit of the _Black Pear_l. Jones took his telescope and looked at the destroyed cabin. Standing on the edge within the space were two teenage boys. He barely recognized one, but the other took no amount of thought. "Ah! It's our deserter, boys!" he called. "Let him and his friend taste the triple guns!" Compartments on the front of the _Dutchman_ were pulled down, revealing a triple-barreled cannon that aimed directly for the Keybearers.

"What the-?" Steven's voice faltered a little when he saw the cannons pointing at them. "I thought ships only had cannons on the sides!" He summoned his Keyblade and prepared to fight. The first one fired, headed for him. "Well, come and get me, why don't you?" He waited until almost the last second and swung his Keyblade at the speeding cannonball. It made an impact, stopping the cannonball in its tracks and dropping it into the water.

"Alright!" Sora cheered. "Way to go, Steven!"

"AAGH!" Steven's hands trembled violently, and he instantly retreated into the ship, dropping his Keyblade to the floor and holding his hands, which where now throbbing in pain, together to keep them still. "That was _not_ a good idea!"

Sora twitched a bit from sympathy and pointed his Keyblade at Steven. "Heal!"

An aura of herbs and flowers surrounded Steven, restoring his hands to good fighting condition. He prepared to step back out, but he spotted an oncoming cannonball headed for Sora, who was not looking in that direction. "Fire!" Steven yelled, rushing forward and pointing his Keyblade at the oncoming projecticle.

Sora turned to face it, just in time to see the spell collide with the ball, creating a small explosion only a couple of yards away from him. "Whoa...thanks for the save!" He took a defensive stance. "Now how about we save the ship too?"

Steven nodded, pointing his Keyblade out to sea. "Gather!" A diamond-shaped mass of energy began to swirl. For extra efficiency, Sora cast one out there as well. The _Pearl_ was quickly being carried away by the wind, which gave Sora and Steven enough distance for safety. They watched as the cannonballs that zoomed towards them get caught in the magnetic field, swirling around until there were too many inside to avoid a collision with each other. And when that happened, every cannonball in each mass of Magnet exploded, spreading the debris into the ocean.

"It's working!" Steven smiled in triumph. "Keep it up!"

"Wait!" Sora replied. He observed the oncoming cannonballs, which were beginning to hit the water or veer off to the side. Furthermore, there was several feet between their landing point and the _Black Pearl_. "I think we're too far for them to hit now!"

"Really?" Steven took a moment of observation, and Sora's instinct was correct. "We're out of range," he realized. He and Sora hopped back into the cabin and rushed on-deck. "We're out of range!" he called. "The _Dutchman_ is too far away to hit us now!" This news was great for the crew, which uproared a small cheer.

"Well done, lads!" Jack called. He was now the one at the wheel, giving it the quick turns it needed to evade anything the _Dutchman_ fired at it.

"And now we're clear!" Gibbs declared, patting both boys on the backs. "Well done, indeed!"

"Wait, we're the faster?" Will asked curiously.

"Aye," Gibbs replied. "We robbed the _Dutchman_ of her advantage. She takes her prey going against the wind, but she stands little chance when the wind is on our side!" Will nodded to show his understanding, but he was still wary of what could come.

* * *

The _Dutchman_'s crew quickly grew frustrated with the triple guns, seeing the _Pearl_ outsail it and only getting farther away. "We're out of range!" a puffer-fish sailor called.

"Break off pursuit!" Jones ordered. "Run her light and douse the canvas!"

"We're giving up, sir?" the hammer-head questioned. A small turn of the captain's head showed the smirk upon his face, a smirk copied by his first mate. One procedure was left to be done if the _Dutchma_n ever 'gave up', and it was about to be implemented here. The signal was given. The bosun eagerly drew its whip and cracked it across the back of the sailors cranking the large hammer, making it rise to its peak...

* * *

From the crow's nest, Marty called out to the crew. "They're giving up!" The bald midget, along with everybody else on-deck, let out an uproar of cheering. "Yeah!"

"We've done it!" Steven yelled. "Whooo!" He high-fived Sora, very hard, and then ran over to Pintel and Ragetti. The three linked arms and skipped across the deck in happiness. "Down with the _Dutchman_!" he cheered, his two companions cheering in unison. Then, among all the celebration, he saw a worried look upon Will's face. He broke the link with the two pirates upon remembering what could befall them next. "Oh no..." He bolted for the wheel to speak to Jack, as did Will.

Will was the first to arrive. "My father is on that ship," he pointed out. "Staying long-range is dangerous. If we can outrun her, we can take her."

"He's right!" Steven assured. "We can take them on, no trouble. Let's turn and fight!"

"We have no reason to fight," Jack replied, waving it off. "We can easily negotiate with them." He placed his jar of dirt on the railing just ahead of the wheel. "After all, we have the proper leverage."

The jar wobbled as the ship was rocked by an impact from beneath them. The crew grabbed onto something to keep their balance. It steadied after a few seconds, but not enough to prevent the jar from crashing to the deck, shattering into pieces and spreading the dirt along it.

Jack looked down at the pile, and he whimpered for two reasons. One, it had jeopardized the safety of his leverage. Two, more importantly, he couldn't see his leverage amongst the pile of dirt. Jack hurried himself down the stairs and dropped to his knees, digging through the small pile. "Where is it?" he stammered nervously. "Where is the thump-thump?" But it was useless. The heart was gone. With the heart gone, his leverage was gone. With his leverage gone...he was as good as dead.

"We must've hit a reef!" a sailor called, peering over the railing. Elizabeth looked into the sea. The water was churning on the side of the ship, simmering as they ship's kinetic movement created a small disturbance of the water around them.

Steven and Will exchanged a quick look. The announcement by the sailor was major deja vu to them. "It's no reef, is it?" Steven said nervously, but it required no answer. They both knew what was coming. "Get away from the rail!" Steven yelled to everybody. "It's not a reef!"

Will was to Elizabeth's side in an instant, pulling her away. "Will, what's going on?" Elizabeth protested. "What is it?"

"It's the kraken," Will informed. "Grab your weapons! It'll attack the starboard side!" He drew his sword in preparation for battle. "Roll out the cannons and hold for my signal!"

The majority of the crew headed below deck to prepare the cannons. They loaded them with cannonballs first, then forced open the hatches from which they would peek out open. The reels for the cannons were pulled and secured, readying the cannons in a battle position.

Pintel started to douse the fuse in gunpowder when Ragetti tapped on his shoulder with the flat of his hand. When Pintel finally rose to attention, he could see Ragetti pointing at the ship's opening. All the men were staring in awe as the kraken's tentacles climbed up the side of the ship. Each suction cup, big or small, was plenty to suck off one of their faces, just as the story had said.

"Easy, boys!"

Sora and Steven conglomerated with the crew top-deck, holding their Keyblades cautiously. The tentacles creeped up the side of the ship, slowly sliding towards the crew.

"Will?" Elizabeth said nervously.

"Steady!" Will urged to the crew, who were now whimpering as death practically stared them in the face in the form of, essentially, a giant octopus. "Hold your fire. Hold it."

"Will?" Elizabeth called again.

"I think we've held fire long enough!" Pintel grumbled at Will, holding the wooden pole with a spark at the end just above the fuse, nagged by fear to fire. Above deck, the tentacles twitched, ready for their assualt.

"Would you call it already?" Steven shouted.

Will flung his arm forward, giving the order. "FIRE!"

One by one, the cannons were set off. The kraken's tentacles shuddered vividly from the impact. For every shot it received, a piece of its slimy flesh was burned away. Each impact left a spot of fire singeing its suction cups. For good measure, Steven and Sora each took one side of the ship, throwing as many Fire spells as they could at the tentacles before they shrank beneath the water, hissing as the burned portions slid below.

"No time to celebrate!" Will ordered before the crew's cheer grew too much. "It'll be back, even angrier." He turned to Elizabeth. "We have to get off the ship."

"Good luck with that," Sora replied, stepping away from the railing for a moment. "It smashed our boats. We're stuck here."

Will sighed in exasperation. They would have to fight back if they wanted a chance of survival. "Pull open the grates!" he ordered, getting an idea. "Haul all of the gunpowder into the cargo net!" The crew rushed to do just that. One of them ran to the deck carrying two guns, handing one to Will. He, in turn, handed the gun to Elizabeth. "Fire at the net when the kraken closes in," he said, addressing Sora as well. "Whatever you do, don't miss."

"As soon as you're clear," Elizabeth nodded. Sora nodded firmly to show his mutual understanding.

The crew started to haul every barrel of gunpowder they could find into the net's folds before it was raised. Unfortunately, they found a very small number of them. "We are short-stocked on powder!" one of the crew members informed Gibbs. "Six barrels only!"

Gibbs turned to relay the information to Will, who was just now coming below-deck. "There's only half a dozen kegs of powder!"

"Then load the rum too!" Will ordered.

Gibbs was rendered speechless. Even with the set of panic, everybody was silent from shock. They looked hopefully at Gibbs, hoping he could present an alternative. The rum was precious, and not to be wasted. Unfortunately, this was a life-or-death situation. "Aye, the rum too!" Gibbs ordered. He frowned sadly at the order for the loss of the coveted drink before he returned to the deck.

Sora stepped carefully past the crew members that were preparing for the oncoming assault to get over to Steven, who still stood by on the other side of the ship. "Will is planning a massive explosion to subdue the kraken's tentacles," he explained. "I need you to help keep the attention of the tentacles."

"You serious?" Steven shuddered violently. "I've already been grabbed by one of those things today, Sora. It is _not_ a pleasant experience!" He sighed deeply turning back to face the sea. "But if we can get that much closer to killing it, fine. I'll distract the-" Steven blinked as he looked father out into the open water. "Sora, is it just me, or is that a boat?"

As Sora looked to where Steven pointed, he could see that it was indeed a boat. It was rowing away from the _Black Pearl_. It was a very distant sight, but Sora knew who was in that boat: Jack Sparrow had flown the coop.

"Oh, you coward," Sora hissed. Time was scarce to be angry the Jack, as the ship rumbled again before too long. Sora stumbled, catching himself as he fell against the rail. He knew what was about to happen, as did everybody else.

"Not good," Marty quipped unnecessarily from nearby.

The kraken's tentacles resurfaced. This time, they shot directly for the lower part of the ship. They broke through the wood and flailed about, snatching up many of the crew that had been firing cannons upon them. A few managed to stay safe by pressing themselves up agains the wall, but the rest that were not able to climb the stairs were yanked from their feet and pulled out of the ship.

Seeing this is where he was needed, Steven rushed below deck. "I'm coming for you, Calamari!" He held out his Keyblade and aimed precisely. "Fire!" He blasted one tentacle that came too close to him. "Fire!" He stepped further in, continuing to shoot and drawing the tentacles closer to himself. "Get out of here!" he urged the men. Without a hesitation, any remaining sailors bolted for the staircase. Steven, meanwhile, took a position at the center of the lower-deck area.

He waited for the tentacles to make a move, upon which he cast a spell. "Guard!" A clear boundary appeared around him, reflecting the tentacles' impact. The following dispersion of the barrier pushed the tentacles away, causing them to retreat, but only momentarily. "Freeze!" Steven swung his Keyblade in a circle, coating spots of the tentacles with ice before he bolted for the stairs. He was prevented when a free tentacle smashed the staircase. "Fire!" Steven shot a Fire spell at the tentacle, making it shrink back in pain. Then, before he could devise a plan of how to get topdeck, he heard somebody call his name.

"Come on, Steve!" Pintel and Ragetti stood at the opening where the staircase used to lead.

"Just in time!" Steven declared. He dismissed his Keyblade, then took a running start, leaping up to the opening and grabbing onto the ledge with his hands. Pintel and Ragetti grabbed his arms and started to hoist him up. Shortly after he let go, Ragetti's eyes widened.

"Hurry!" he urged, suddenly pulling harder. Steven was about to ask what the worry was, but a clenched feeling on his ankle gave his answer. He felt himself being tugged down, in a tug of war between the kraken and his two pirate friends. The sudden tug pulled him down quickly, but Pintel and Ragetti maintained their grip, slowly pulling Steven back up. But the kraken was massive, strong, and would eventually win if something else wasn't done.

"I need a free hand!" Steven croaked, his voice strained from being pulled on. Pintel released one arm and quickly started pulling on the same one that Ragetti held. The kraken gained a bit of an advantage here. But so did Steven, when he summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the tentacle. With a struggle, he cast another spell. "Thunder!" A stream of electricity spread along the tentacle. The water conducted the shock and Steven was suddenly released. The momentum of the pull on his other arm gave way to him flying up through the opening and onto the deck. He nodded at Pintel and Ragetti. "Thanks guys. I owe you one."

"Nah, mate," Ragetti corrected. "We still owe you quite a few."

"And we're gonna repay that," Pintel promised.

"Fair enough," Steven allowed before he began to run around the deck

Out at sea, Jack continued rowing the longboat, the one he had stolen from his ship. He still had a ways to go until he reached land, and his arms were getting tired. He watched with hopelessness as his ship was being torn apart by the beast of Jones, and he couldn't help but feel...bad. This was new for him, Jack Sparrow, to feel such a thing as remorse for his actions. His mind was now clouded, so he turned to an instrument that had previously been failing him. He grabbed his compass and opened it up, waiting for the spinning arrow to determine his fate.

The crew turned a large crank that hoisted a mechanism attached to the cargo net. Inside, all of the gunpowder and rum had been loaded. Will secured a foothold in the ropes, holding onto it as it was lifted high above the deck. This was meant to attract the kraken, upon which Sora and Elizabeth would fire. The kraken's attention was hard to grasp, however. After all, with so many suitable crew members to snatch up, the tentacles were already very occupied.

"Hang on, man!" Gibbs cried, holding the arms of a sailor in the clutches of a tentacle. "I'm not going to let you go!" But the beast was too strong, and Gibbs failed to keep hold as the man was pulled to the depths of the ocean. With a heavy sigh, Gibbs pulled out his pistol and fired at the kraken's tentacle.

Sora, meanwhile, attempted to keep it away from the crank that hoisted the net. "Come and get me!" He taunted, slicing into a tentacle. He followed up with a short run to the ship's wheel to cut another one. He kept up the swipe-and-run tactic, not bothering to traverse the stairs. Instead, he leapt over the staircase and headed for the ratlines, beginning to climb up them. A tentacle that got too close would suffer a heavy blow, followed by a cut from Sora. "Guard!" Sora blocked an assault from multiple tentacles, then quickened his pace up the roped ascension until he reached the crow's nest. A few of the tentacles followed him up there, and a few more were surrounding the still rising net.

"Come and get me!" Will taunted. "I'm right here! Bring it on!" He waved his sword at the tentacles, chiding them to come for the net. To his misfortune, it worked. A large tentacle broke through the railing and took a swing at the top of the net, swinging it around and hooking it over the tentacle and jolting Will, hooking his foot on the inside of the net and trapping him there. Will's sword fell to the deck as he hung there, swinging back and forth. But he wasn't helpless, and he proved this as such by pulling the dagger stored at his belt and started to saw through the rope to give him freedom.

Elizabeth and Sora took this opportunity to aim. Elizabeth stepped towards the captain's cabin for her standoff point. Sora took helm at the wheel, aiming his Keyblade carefully at the netfull of barrels. Tentacles flopped around the ship, and they couldn't afford to stay still for long.

"Shoot!" Will urged, still cutting away at the rope. "Both of you, shoot!"

They took their aim, waiting for Will to get free. And then the dangers of staying still presented themselves.

Tentacles had broken through the back windows of the ship and crawled towards Elizabeth. One wrapped around her ankle, causing her to drop the rifle and to the ground. Her hat fell to the floor and she screamed loudly, flopping over as the kraken dragged her across the destroyed room.

But then a ball of fire appeared from one corner of the room, headed for a post in the center. The flame collided with an oil lamp hanging from the post. The flammable liquid caught fire and exploded from the impact, giving it enough of a blast to cause the tentacles to release Elizabeth, flinching violently as they retreated into the water.

Steven stepped out from that corner and offered Elizabeth his hand. Elizabeth nodded, thanking him silently. She took his hand and used it to pull herself up, running back for the gun. Another crew member took up the gun, but he was grabbed by a tentacle and pulled through the air. His grip was robbed and he dropped the gun at the top of the stairs. Elizabeth started to crawl up them against the ship's rumbling. She placed her hand on the gun, only to have a brown boot press it to the floor. She punched the boot, trying fiercely to move it before looking up.

Cast in a very heroic light by the sun was Jack Sparrow. With a small smile, Elizabeth sat down on the steps as Jack picked up the gun and aimed it at the barrels that Will hung from. Will finally broke a small hole in the net. As he moved to leap from the net to the deck, Jack lifted the gun to his shoulder.

From the other side of the ship, Sora watched Will falling, then looked over to see Jack holding up the gun to destroy the mass of barrels. A smile formed on his face as he held up his Keyblade. He fired his projecticle first, followed by the lightning-quick blast from the shot of Jack's gun.

It seemed to happen so slowly, and yet it was over within about ten seconds. The barrels burst apart upon impact, each enflaming the next and increasing the size of the explosion that took place above the _Pearl's_ deck. It spread to every tentacle in the vicinity, burning full layers of the kraken's appendages away. A deep moan could be heard beneath the ship as the tentacles slowly retreated, suffering greatly with every move they made.

Slowly, each of the survivors began to come around. Will stood up from the deck. Cotton came from the lower deck, his parrot still faithfully on his shoulder. Marty pushed aside a piece of debris that he had been using as cover. Elizabeth stepped down the stairs slowly, Jack walking ahead of her. Gibbs stepped towards the railing, looking out to the water. Sora stepped calmly down the stairs, being alert for what could come next. Steven, Pintel and Ragetti, exited the captain's cabin.

Steven in particular had a bit of triumph in his step. "Sweet! Well done, everyone! We got the kraken! We got-" He observed the deck briefly, seeing the pitiful amount of survivors that there were. Beginning with at least thirty or forty men, they were now down to only ten people in all. He couldn hardly speak anymore, solemnly going towards the rail, where Gibbs stood. "We _did _get it...right?"

"No," Gibbs said with a soft, growling breath in his voice. "We've only made it angry." He stormed away from the rail and walked towards Jack. "We're awaiting orders, Cap'n. We're not out of this yet."

Jack shuffled across the deck and handed Gibbs the rifle that he held. "Abandon ship," he said. "Everyone into the longboat."

Gibbs held the gun in confusion, awestruck for a few moments before he stepped away from his curren position and loomed over Jack's shoulder. "But Jack! The _Pearl!_"

Jack stopped walking. He looked around at the faces on-deck, who were as surprised as Gibbs was that such an action was being taken by the captain. Then he turned to look at Gibbs again before turning away. "She's only a ship, mates," Jack said quietly.

A second later, Elizabeth nodded. "He's right. We have to make for land."

"I don't know," Steve mused, looking out to see. "There's a ton of water to pass through."

"A lot of water," Ragetti agreed.

"We have to try," Sora affirmed, dropping the ladder down the side of the ship. "It's after the _Pearl_. We can get away while it comes back to finish it off."

Will, followed by the others, nodded in agreement. "Abandon ship," he said, voicing everybody's thoughts.

"Aye," Gibbs agreed. "Abandon ship or abandon any hope of survival."

It was unanimous. While the rest of the crew made their way towards the longboat, Elizabeth held back and watched Jack. The pirates was looking over his ship for what would probably be the final time. Brushing his hand along the wood, Jack sighed in regret of the decision he was about to make. To reassure him, Elizabeth stepped closer, standing only feet away from the mast.

"Thank you, Jack," she said, smiling softly.

Jack turned to face her, shaking his head. "We're not free yet, love."

"But you came back." Elizabeth stepped ever closer to the pirate. "You are a good man. And I always knew."

"Did you now?" Jack wondered aloud. Elizabeth had no vocal response to his statement. She only slowly moved towards Jack, her lips pursing a little. Their faces nearly made contact for a few seconds as Elizabeth moved. But only a few seconds later, they did.

And then their lips met.

Though caught off-guard by this approach, Jack gave himself to it. He and Elizabeth clutched each other's clothes, pulling each other closer as they delved into this spontaneous expression to each other. Each person clutched the other's arms and kept their make-out session going.

Will took the shotgun handed down to him by Gibbs and in turn, he handed it down to the sailors already in the boat. Turning to face forward as he prepared to climb down the side of the ship, his eyes stopped him, watching an image that would be stuck in his mind for a long time. He watched the deck of the soon-to-be-doomed _Black Pearl_ as the lips of his fiance were attached to the face of Jack Sparrow.

It would taste a bitter-sweet lie to say Jack wasn't enjoying the kiss. Elizabeth pushed him up agains the mast, and Jack moved his hands below his waistline. Once he did, Elizabeth clutched his lower arms and held them there. A grave turn began to take place for Jack. An iron cuff closed around his left wrist and was clamped tightly by Elizabeth, who gritted her teeth as she did her work. She took hold of the trapped hand.

"The Black Spot, Jack," she reminded. "It's after you, not the ship. If you come with us, we'll all be killed." She gulped deeply, struggling with the task she was undertaking. "This is the only way, don't you see?" She trembled a little bit, avoiding eye contact with Jack. "I'm...I'm not sorry."

Through it all, Jack should've been angry with her, and obviously, he was a little. But yet a smirk painted itself onto his face as he looked into her guilty, but confident eyes. Then, to Elizabeth, he whispered the one word that his response to so many things.

"_Pirate_."

Elizabeth kept her trembling body positioned where it was for only a couple seconds longer before she tore herself away and marched quickly for the side of the ship, where she proceeded to climb over and head down to the boat. Will reached out a hand to help Elizabeth keep her balance as she lowered herself into the boat. Once she was down, he looked directly at her.

"Where's Jack?" he asked, his face keeping a blank expression.

Elizabeth turned to him, reflecting his expression with only a hint of tension in her face. "He elected to stay behind to give us a chance to get away." The rest of the crew turned to look at Elizabeth briefly, then lifted their heads to see if they could catch a glimpse of Jack. Elizabeth lifted her head again. "Go!" she barked. Against this, the sailors gave no oppposition, releasing the rope and allowing the boat to drift off.

Jack, meanwhile, struggled with his bindings. If he was going out at all, it wasn't going to be like this. Yanking at the chains yielded little more effect than giving his arm a terrible ache. "Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger!" Jack stopped his relentless bid for freedom and looked for an alternative. He looked around the deck, his eyes passing over splintered wood and mangled bodies, and also a lantern, with oil still left in it. Getting inventive, Jack pulled out his sword and bent over, stretched his body to its limits to try and hook the sword into the ring atop the structure.

It strained him, but he was successful. He gained a secure hook onto the lighting tool and lifted it from its perch. He swungs his sword in a quick, forceful swipe against the mast, breaking the lantern and pouring the oil out. He immediately held the device over his hand, dripping the oil onto it. Satisfied, he tossed the lantern aside and sheathed his sword. Now all that needed attention was his trapped hand. He tugged at it, leaning left and right as his hand slowly slid agains the metal. Jack took a deep breath and tried one, long, straining tug.

He gasped in triumph when he pulled his hand free from the shackle. He had only a second to savor his victory, for he heard a looming presence coming from behind him. Surprising to himself, he stayed calm as he turned to face the kraken, which rose from the ocean little by little. Its smaller tentacles took hold over the edge of the railing while the large ones loomed far above the structure. its maw was mostly open, hooked teeth crossed amidst a mass of pinkish flesh. But as soon as Jack got a full view of the beast, it flung its mouth open, displaying many rings of teeth in its mouth when it roared.

Jack closed his eyes tightly while strands of slimy saliva and the odor of over a thousand unfortunate sailors were thrust at him in full and all at once. As it waned, Jack stood still, then shuddered a little bit at the uneasy feeling. But as he stared death in the face, he shrugged it off. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Jack admitted to himself. His eyes wandered to the deck, where his long-lost hat was deposited at his feet, coughed up from the maw of the kraken.

With a wide smile, Jack tugged the slime-covered accessory from the deck and placed it upon his head. His head felt complete for the first time within these last few days, and he felt invincible. "Ello, beastie." He pulled his sword from his belt and stood his ground as the kraken made its move. Swinging his sword, Jack Sparrow went down triumphantly, fighting even as the sea monster was preparing to swallow him alive.

The sailors and warriors who had escaped from the catestrophic situation watched in shock as the _Black Pearl_ was torn to pieces, bit by bit, by the kraken. They knew Jack was aboard it, they knew he was dying. Each individual in that boat stared on, feeling a large weight on themselves when the magnificent ship finally was brought to an end by the tentacles of the beast.

Another individual was not interested in the longboat that drifted away. Holding a telescope to his eye with a tentacle that should've been his right hand, he didn't remove it from his face for much time. He only willed himself to lower it when he saw the ship completely submerge beneath his ocean.

"Jack Sparrow," whispered the voice of Davy Jones, slamming the telescope shut. "Our debt has been settled."

"The captain goes down with his ship," a sailor of coral shells growled with affirmation.

"It turns out that nobody, not even Jack Sparrow, can best the devil," the hammer-head sailor added in proudly.

Davy Jones tore his gaze from the ocean and looked to his crew. "Open the chest," he ordered. His crew looked to each other, unsure of this order. "Open the chest!" the captain repeated. "I must see it for myself!"

The added urgency of Jones' voice cleared up everything that the crew needed, and they made their way for the chest at once. The closest fish-sailor turned the key, then stepped away. Jones stepped through the crowd and sat before it. Placing both of his his disfigured sea-creature hands on the lid, he pulled it up.

His face was stricken with horror, trembling in the presence of the truth. The chest was completely empty. Jones' heart had been stolen from its hiding place, and whoever possessed it now had leverage over him, he who essentially ruled the seas. But no longer, as this individual would now have that power. Trembling in righteous anger, Jones spat water from his mouth with a phrase of condemnation.

"Damn you, Jack Sparrow!" The captain of the _Flying Dutchman_ cried out to the sky in anguish, one of the only feelings left to him.

* * *

Mercer stood before his Lord, Cutler Beckett, with news of grave importance, thought neither man knew of what degree this importance rose to.

"Lord Beckett," he greeted. "The last of our ships has landed in the harbor. Every one of them has returned."

"Is there any news on our main goal?" Beckett wondered.

"Partially," Mercer allowed. "My ship came across Isle Cruces and found a man being chased by the Heartless. We arrived just in time to call them off of him." He held up a small, leatherbound pack of letters. "He had these."

As they were placed upon his desk, Beckett looked over the letters of marque he had given to Elizabeth, now back in his own hands. But it was not Will Turner's signature on the letters, nor was it Jack Sparrow's.

"I hope you don't mind that I filled in my name ahead of time." James Norrington stood beside the door to the office, an officer in a blue jacket keeping a hold on his arm. Beckett lightly dropped the letters to the desk's surface and beckoned for Norrington to step forward. The officer let go of Norrington's arm, allowing him to proceed.

"There are many who wish to claim these," Beckett informed. "But there is a particular thing in mind that must be traded to be entitled to these documents." Beckett arose, pushing his chair out and paced around the desk, towards Norrington. "So, Former Commodore Norrington, do you have the compass of Jack Sparrow?"

"I do not," Norrington answered, bowing his head a little. Beckett's eyes narrowed at Norrington, opening up again when he heard the fallen commodore chuckling beneath his breath as he lifted his head. "I've got what the compass would lead you to." He pulled from his jacket a small wrapping of fabric and held it in his palms. Beckett watched in awe as the small object within flexed itself, up and down with a thumping noise.

"The heart of Davy Jones," Beckett acknowledged.

* * *

The journey taken by the crew of the defeated _Black Pearl_ was a dismal one. They returned to the bayou where the woman who had sent them on this journey resided. Knowledge of why they came was not needed by the inhabitants of this place. Many men, women, and children, stood visible to the side of the river. Each of them held a candle and had a solemn expression. This small gesture, while not enough to relieve the pain, did manage to ease the nerves of those within the boat.

Once inside the cabin of Tia Dalma, it stayed silent. Each of them had their own way of mourning. Most just sat there, clueless of words to speak in this moment. Will took his knife and flung it into the wooden table, then tugged it out to repeat the process over and over again. Sora wandered throughout the cabin, pacing in his absence of thought. Steven sat on the floor, resting against the wall of the hut. Gibbs leaned against one of the suppots of the Elizabeth sat on a barrel, looking most solemn of them all.

Tia Dalma passed out warm drinks to each one of them, beginning with Gibbs and circling the room to end up at Elizabeth's side. "Against the cold and sorrow," she chided. Elizabeth's only response was to gratefully accept the drink and take a small sip of it.

Tia set the tray on the table, not even caring that Will was slowly peeling away the wood. "I am truly sorry, William Turner. I know you wished to use the _Pearl _to capture the devil and set free your father's soul."

"That can't help me now," Will replied softly. "The _Black Pearl_ is gone." He plunged the knife into the table yet again. "And its captain went with it."

"Aye," Gibbs said in accordance. "Even so soon after it happened, the world seems much less bright of a place." He stood standing from his position against the post and stepped inside the hut. "He fooled us all, right up until the end. But I don't think there be any question that his honest streak has finally won out." He raised his cup to the memory of their fallen captain. "To Jack Sparrow!"

"Never another like Captain Jack," Ragetti added.

"He was a gentleman of fortune," Pintel said with a trace of sadness in his voice.

"He was quite a character, and unforgettable," Steven toasted, lifting his cup as well.

"He was one of the craziest people I knew," Sora offered. "But he was also a good friend."

"He was a good man," Elizabeth agreed, her voice the weakest of everyone in the room.

"To Jack Sparrow," Will finished. The toasts finished, the people in the room took a sip from their drinks. Sora downed his within ten seconds, allowing the warm liquid to heat up his body as it ran through him.

"I still don't understand," Sora wondered, setting his cup down on the table. "Why did Jack have to die for us to escape?"

Steven remained sitting on the floor, but he knew someone would have to speak to his friend. "Sora," he said, getting the Keyblade wielder's attention. "Let me tell you something I've learned out here. The world of pirates...isn't for the faint of heart." Steven didn't falter, even when Will spared a glance towards him. "You have to make difficult decisions to survive out here. Even then...not everyone can survive."

Sora nodded, knowing that these words were true. "I just wish we could help him," Sora replied. "He was my friend. He was a friend to us all. If bringing him back were possible..." Sora took a deep breath and nodded in certainty. "I would do it."

"You would?"

The occupants of the room whirled their heads to look upon Tia Dalma, who had just spoken. "What would you do, hmm?" she asked. "What would the lot of you be willing to do?" She paced around the room, making eye contact with all she passed. "Would you sail beyond the ends of the earth to fetch back witty Jack and his precious _Black Pearl_?"

Those words inspired strength among the people in the room. Even if it had only been a hypothetical question, it was still enough to strike a man's courage into shape. Gibbs scanned the room first, then nodded. "Aye!" he declared.

Pintel and Ragetti rose next, getting up from their seats. "Aye!"

Steven hopped up from the floor to stand with the others. "Aye!" he said excitedly, before feeling a dizziness overcome him. "Oh crap, head rush!"

While Steven fell to the floor, Sora's previously pessimistic thoughts faded and filled with hope. He smiled widely, and chimed in with the others. "Aye!"

Will pulled his knife from the table and gripped it tightly, nodding as well. "Aye."

Elizabeth was the last to speak up, but she nodded, very sure of herself. "Yes."

"Excellent!" Tia congratulated. "But there be one thing you need. There be weird and haunted shores at the world's end. So, for this, you will need a captain who knows those waters."

Her words were followed by a thudding of footsteps down the stairs. Sora stepped around Tia Dalma and the others to make his way up front. The new arrival's face was hidden for some time, but everybody arose and kept their eyes watching the spot. When the person arrived at the bottom of the stairs, shock was spread to everybody in the room except for Tia Dalma, who had brought this person here, and Steven, who did not know this person's identity.

With Jack the monkey happily standing on his shoulder, Captain Hector Barbossa held up a fresh, green apple before his face. "So tell me, what's become of my ship?" He bit into the apple for three whole seconds, allowing the flavorful juices to drip into his beard as he cackled.

* * *

**THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!  
**

**A/N: Dead Man's Chest is over. Next - the sail to World's End! **


	20. The Beginning of the Journey to the End

Murky, gray waters made up the swamp that this small town was rooted in. Created out of nature's gifts of wood, weed, fire, and stone, it worked together to create a dim, gloomy look. Caverns of water were blocked by iron bars. Few residents of the town wandered outside, the wooden bridges wandered instead by men in uniform of the British military, searching for some particular subjects said to be residing or traveling within the city.

One such subject floated in a boat below them, with one paddle pulling her small vessel through the water by her rowing. She wore a tattered grey poncho, dark-colored pants on her legs and black shoes that strapped across the top of her foot. On her head rested a bowl-shaped hat with a small point at the top that kept her face from those who patrolled just above. To herself, she sang a soft song.

"_A call to all, pay heed the squall_

_And turn your sails to home._"

The boat drifted slowly towards the dock alongside the stone steps. The woman set the paddle down and let it drift there, setting a rope around one of the posts on the dock. She placed her hand against the post to slow the boat to a complete stop.

"_Yo ho, all hands, hoist the colors high_"

She stepped up out of the boat onto the dock and began to walk towards the stone structures ahead of her.

"_Heave ho-_"

"Thief and begger!" Her singing was interrupted by that of another, a Chinese man with a slightly curled mustache and a few patches of armor on his shoulders. "Never shall we _die_!" He strolled up to the woman, backed by a few others who emerged. "That song is dangerous to sing for those unaware of its true meaning. Particularly for a woman." He smirked softly at the girl. "Especially one who is alone."

"Don't be assuming she's alone." Their heads whirled to a nearby set of stairs. A man trotted down them, a man with worn-down clothing and a brown, scraggly beard with a face to match being the main view of his person. Coming out from behind him, a teenager with brown, spiky hair also stood.

"Captain Barbossa!" the sailor whispered softly. "You protect this woman?"

The unsheathing of a weapon was heard and the woman pressed a knife threateningly against the man's throat. The next words were spoken by the teenager with spiky hair. "We're supporting each other, if nothing else," he corrected. "Nobody needs protecting, including her."

"Your master is expecting us, sailor," Barbossa revealed. "An unexpected death before arrival would put a bit of a black mark on our visit."

With a short nod, the sailor motioned for them to follow. They retreated back into the shadows and started opening an iron gate leading to a shorter, more discrete passage to the destination of those traveling here. Barbossa smiled and turned to his companions. "Your performance was quite impressive, Miss Swann," he complimented the woman. He spared a look and kudos for the teenager as well. "As was yours, Master Sora. A bit surprising from you, but good, none the less."

Elizabeth huffed at this statement. "It's hardly an act," she claimed.

"We both just hate dealing with pirates," Sora added.

Barbossa snickered and walked towards the shadows, the gate in the tunnel now open. "I don't doubt your words, but I can at least attest that ye both knew what ye were getting yourselves into."

"Regardless of what he is," Sora continued as he walked behind Barbossa, "Jack is my friend. If it weren't for that, I'd still be having second thoughts about this trip."

"Do tell." Barbossa smirked at his companions. "Why would ye hesitate to be traveling in such company?"

"It's your character, Barbossa." Elizabeth marched forward, making her way to the head of the pack. "Regardless of the fact that Sora helped to defeat you, you simply aren't trustworthy. Do I really have to remind you of that?"

"Do you need to? Of course not." Barbossa shook his head. "Does it serve as a reminder of how much I enjoy pursuing such a life?" He held his fingers a short distance apart. "Perhaps a smidge."

* * *

While this group traversed on foot through the tunnel of stone and water, their backup traveled beneath the water. Reeds of bamboo stuck above the surface to allow them air. One by one, the crew of the late _Black Pearl_ surfaced beneath the structure that provided them cover from being seen. They each wore half a coconut shell to cover the tops of their heads, discarding them once they were no longer of any use.

They all huddled around another rusty, iron gate. Ragetti led the party, wiggling the bars of the gate a little bit. "It's locked!" he whispered. "But it's quite rusty. We can just cut it down."

"Locked?" Steven was the last to join the group, discarding his coconut and breathing rod. "I've got a better way." He stepped into the center of the group and ducked his hand beneath the water to conceal the light of his Keyblade being summoned. "Now we just wait..."

The cover that was provided for them was in the form of a wooden bridge spanning an area of water. A cart of miscellaneous trinkets was being pushed by a woman in concealing clothing. From a large hat, several beads veiled her face, except for her grotesque smile. Accompanying her on the cart was a monkey and a multi-colored parrot.

"AWK! Steady as she goes!" the parrot screeched. Once it had done so, the monkey began to turn the crank of a contraption on the cart, playing a tune on a music box. Once this music had begun, the men below knew that it was time.

"There it is." Steven smiled softly and lifted his Keyblade from the water. He tapped the gate twice, softly, and he heard a clicking noise. After it had passed, the gate slowly creaked open and opened up another passage to them.

"Well done, lad!" Gibbs patted Steven on the shoulder before he motioned for the others. "Now move out." The pirates obediently filed into the tunnel, crawling through to their next destination.

* * *

At the end of the tunnel, one that took several minutes to go through, Elizabeth, whose revealed hair dangled from the back of her head in a pigtail, Barbossa, and Sora resumed trailing the sailors they had met up with.

"Have you heard from Will?" Elizabeth asked.

"I trust Master William to get the charts," Barbossa assured. "He is an able thief when need be. Now I need the both of you to justify my faith that you'll know your places in Sao Feng's presence."

"What's he like?" Sora asked.

"Much like myself." Barbossa smirked softly. "But he lacks my honor and sense of fair play." Despite the gravity of the situation, Sora couldn't help but smile at least a tiny bit.

They were led to a larger gate, made of thick wood. The lead man, Tai Huang, knocked on the door twice. A small peekhole was opened for those on the other side of the door to see him. "Hoy!" he stated, and then the hole was closed. Barely a second later, the gate creaked open. The three were led forward before a group of men. They asked the party to remove their weapons. Sora had no weapons, save for the Keyblade, which these men didn't know about. Barbossa handed over a few pistols and some swords, as did Elizabeth. They made to pass, but a balding man with a black ponytail of hair held up his hand.

"You think we would not suspect treachery simply because she is a woman?" he accused.

"Well, when you put it that way..." Barbossa agreed with a snicker.

"Remove," the man ordered Elizabeth. "Please."

Wearing an irritated frown, Elizabeth untied her poncho and opened it up, revealing a rubber suspender on her torso, holstering several guns. She took them two at a time and placed them on the table by the other weapons. Then she took off the poncho and suspender and shoved it at one of the other men. From her pocket, she pulled up a small bomb with a fuse. She tossed it up in her hand before putting it gently down. She held up a finger, signifying that she wasn't quite done, and reached back into her pants. This action earned her some stares, even from Sora and Barbossa. Finally, she pulled out her final gun: a blunderbuss, which looked as if it could double as a club, and set it with the other weapons.

Once again, they tried to move forward, but the man held up his hand. "Remove. Please." Elizabeth looked down on her person. There was little left to remove. Her look of confusion turned into one of appall and realization, and she glared harshly at the man, who wore a nasty smirk on his face.

So, grudgingly, Elizabeth was required to walk in without her pants on. He turquoise tunic was long enough to cover her pelvic region, giving her a little bit of comfort back. But that calmness was upset by the disturbing sight within the throne room. It doubled as a bath house, with tubs of steaming water on each side of the room. And the occupants of these tubs sported many disgusting growths of fungus on their bodies, something Elizabeth couldn't bear to look at, but also something that trapped her gaze if her eyes wandered to them.

A column of steam came up from the end of the room. The walls curved around, forming a small chamber in that small area. Two identical girls, adorned in black clothing with red ribbons in their black hair and tied around their waist, parted to reveal the man whom this audience was about.

Captain Sao Feng was dressed in deeply colored turquoise robes, with identically-colored shoulder armor, turned slowly to look upon the group of people with whom he had arranged a meeting. His head was bald, but his mustache curved neatly down ward and formed points at the end. A couple of lines on his head marked skin deformities, speicifcally scars. His eyes were fairly narrow as he made contact with his visitors.

"Captain Barbossa," he greeted in a soft voice carrying a hint of praise. "Welcome to Singapore." Barbossa bowed softly, gesturing Elizabeth and Sora to do the same. With a small hint of hesitation, both of them complied. The captain held up a small cloth to his nose, took a whiff, then lowered it. "More steam."

One of the servant girls nodded softly. They reached up to a small piece of round, carved wood attached to a rope system. She pulled it down, cuing those in the boiler room below to get to work.

* * *

The secretive group of pirates reached the end of their tunnel and proceeded down a long hallway. Marty went at the head of the group, forming the first person in a steady line. Ragetti was second, followed by Gibbs, Pintel, Steven, and Cotton. Ragetti peeked around the corner, watching as a few wooden planks hanging from a string flipped over and clattered against each other. This signaled the workers to pull another mechanism to release steam from the boiler to the throne room above. In the meantime, a third man walked into the room. This man was enormous, standing about eight feet and sporting a very large belly.

Naturally, the men got skittish at the thought of a man that could squash them flat if he decided to try a body slam. Ragetti tried to get out of the line and retreat, but Gibbs grabbed his arm firmly. "None of that!" he hissed. "If things don't go according to plan, we're the only chance that they have." He shoved Ragetti back iinto his place.

"I've faced bigger," Steven promised confidently. "Add all of you to the equation, and their chance of winning...well, let's just say it's too pitiful to even be called a chance." He motioned them backwards, taking head of the line as well as another look. The giant man picked up an upsized shovel and dug it into a pile of coal, which he threw into the boiler. Steven gulped hestitantly at the sight. "Oh...you know, he's a lot bigger up close." Steven held his hand behind his back, summoning his Keyblade. "Well, let's get to work."

* * *

Sao Feng took a moment to relish in the batch of fresh steam before stepping forward to acknowledge his visitors. "Am I to understand that you have a request for me?"

"That could be said," Barbossa answered. "But it's more of a proposal I'm putting to ye. I'm on a venture, and am in need of a ship. A few more hands on deck would be appreciated, if you would be so kind as to provide them."

"Hmm?" Sao Feng raised an eyebrow. "That's an odd coincidence."

"Because you have a ship and some sailors you're not using?" Sora asked hopefully.

Sao Feng shook his head. "It's coincidence because only this morning, a thief broke into the temple of my revered uncle." He looked thoughtfully towards an short man with a beard standing off to the side of the room. He held what looked like a rolled-up map in his hands. The captain held out his hands and the man allowed him to lift it before the visitors. "These are what was stolen. They are the navigational charts, telling one who would use them the route to the farthest gate." He forcefully tossed the charts at the Tai Huang, who flinched when he saw them coming for him, but managed to catch them as Sao Feng continued. "It would be a coincidence, would it not, if your venture were to take you into the world beyond this one?"

Barbossa hesitated only a moment before speaking. "It would strain credulity, it would."

Sao Feng's casual face turned grim within seconds as he stepped away from the company he had received. He turned his head to the right and gave a quick upward jerk of his head. On this command, two of the sailors pulled up a thick, long cylinder of wood resting above a tub of water. Ropes were attached to each end of the wood, ropes binding hands to it. These hands belonged, unfortunately, to Will, who gasped loudly for air, after having to hold his breath for quite some time.

"This is the thief," Sao Feng stated. "Is he somebody that you know?"

Needing no instruction from Barbossa, Sora and Elizabeth shook their heads along with their captain. But Sao Feng pulled what looked like the handle of a crutch stored within his armor, and it was revealed to have a sharp, metal point.

"Then I suppose he's not going to need it any longer." He rapidly shot his hand up at Will's neck with the weapon.

"Ah!" Sora flinched.

"No!" Elizabeth cried in a high-pitched gasp, which she tried to stifle.

Sao Feng heard it, though. Hovering his weapon barely the thickness of a sword away from Will's neck, he turned his head to look upon the exposed liars. Satisfied at having called their bluff, he put the weapon back in its resting place. "So you'd dare come into my city and betray my hospitality?"

Barbossa answered quickly. "Sao Feng, I assure you, I-"

"Didn't think he'd get caught?" Sao Feng bellowed in Barbossa's face. He spun away from Barbossa in a huff. "You are going on a venture to Davy Jones' Locker. I cannot help but wonder, though...why?"

Barbossa's face went grim as well. He did not speak to Sao Feng, only pulled a silver coin from his pocket. He flipped it to the Singaporean captain. Sao Feng blew a quick breath of air upon the coin, then held it up to his ear. A continuous ring sounded itself as he held it there.

"The song has been sung." Barbossa was no longer bluffing. "The time we all fear has come. We must convene the Bretheren Court. Pirates from the four corners of the earth must stand together, and you must honor that call."

Sao Feng's fingers closed on the coin, a deeper frown etching itself into his face. "More steam," he muttered. The servant girl that had executed this command before pulled the rope once again. They waited a few moments, but nothing happened. The eyes of the people in the room. looked around curiously. "More steam!" Sao Feng whirled upon the girl, who jumped softly before pulling it again.

* * *

Below, the handiwork of the remaining members of their shipless crew had made some tremendous progress.

"See?" Steven chuckled, leaning on his Keyblade a little bit. "I told you they didn't stand a chance."

"Still think it would've been easier if we'd blown up the boiler," Pintel said. "There'd at least be an explosion to look at."

"You'd blow up all of them up there, though." Ragetti motioned towards the floor above with his right hand while carrying a tightly-rolled bundle with his other hand.

"Exactly," Steven agreed. He nodded towards the unconscious body of the giant man in the room. "By the way, Marty, way to go. Didn't realize you had that in you."

Marty glared softly at Steven from his perch on top of said body, but he accepted the compliment with a salute. "Even a guy as thick as this can't take a hard blow to the head." The man began to stir beneath him, groaning in pain. Marty responded quickly, taking up the shovel the man had used and swiftly whacked his head again.

"Aye, aye, good job. Now we move on!" Gibbs urged to everybody. Then he spotting a set of wooden flaps flopping over a string. He blinked softly, noticing it was the second time it had happened. "Cotton, pull that rope," he ordered, pointing to the one just beside the flaps. Cotton obliged, releasing steam once again.

Steven looked around the room. "Guards, check. Steam, check." He nodded briefly to Ragetti, who carefully placed the bundle he carried on the floor and unrolled it, revealing all sorts of guns, swords, and knives. "Weapons, check." He got on his knees and took up a few pistols, handing them off to Pintel and Ragetti in turns. The rest of the crew gathered up their own weapons and stored them in their clothes.

"Everyone armed?" Gibbs checked. They nodded in return, and then they rolled up the empty bundle, kicking it aside. They followed Gibbs slowly, shuffling beneath the floor and coming directly under where their allies stood. "Now we wait for the signal."

* * *

Once the steam had emerged from beneath, Sao Feng calmed himself, but the aura of anger still surrounded him. "What turn of events has upset the balance enough to gather the Court?"

Barbossa opened his mouth, but Sora stepped forward. "Cutler Beckett," he said. "He made this all happen." Barbossa cleared his throat quietly, attracting Sora's attention. Sora looked back and shrugged. "How about letting someone else have a turn to talk?" Barbossa huffed a bit, but remained quiet. Given the floor, Sora continued. "The existence of every pirate is in danger because of Beckett. He's hunting down every pirate and almost everyone who's ever dealt with a pirate. Captain," Sora added, just to be polite.

"Is that so?" Sao Feng replied. "Which includes me, I imagine? As well as yourself"

"We probably deserve it, you know. Or at least, _most_ of us do," Sora answered, sparing a slight glance at Barbossa. "But it's true. And he has control of creatures that you'll never be able to fight against on your own. "

Barbossa rolled his eyes a bit. "Though quite discriminating in his description, Master Sora speaks the facts. Beckett controls a manner of dark creatures known as the Heartless, monsters that devour the hearts of people."

"What credibility is behind this statement?" Sao Feng demanded. "How am I supposed to believe that?"

"Because..." Barbossa smirked widely. "I was aligned with being who controlled these beasts only months ago."

Sao Feng sighed deeply. "And there is a price on our heads?" Barbossa nodded in return. "It's true, then," he concluded. "Any pirate who survives to make a profit will gain profit only by betraying other pirates." He swooped upon Sora, causing the Keyblade bearer to step back cautiously. "Does the boy Sora have any other wisdom to share with us? For instance, what would he suggest we do against the East India Trading Company? What could the Brethren Court do against them?"

"You can fight!" Elizabeth spoke up. She started forward and one of the sailors took hold of her arm. "Get off me!" She flung the man's arm away and marched forward. "You are Sao Feng, the pirate lord of Singapore. You represent an era of bold captains freely sailing waters they have a right to sail in. Would you want to watch that era end?" She gestured to ceiling with both hands. "Pirates from all over the world are gathering to fight against our enemies!" Then she pointed a stiff finger at Sao Feng. "But you are just sitting here, cowering in your bathwater!"

The captain advanced slowly towards Elizabeth. She nervously stepped away from him, but she focused her nerves and held her ground. "Elizabeth Swann," Sao Feng whispered. "I see there is more to you than meets the eye, isn't there?" He leaned down beside her. "But the eye does not go wanting." He stood again and pointed a finger at Barbossa. "But don't think I've failed to notice, Hector, that you have failed to answer my question. Tell me what it is that you seek, in Davy Jones' locker."

For the first time in this conversation, Will let himself be heard. "We're going to rescue Jack Sparrow," he revealed. "He is one of the pirate lords."

The twins who stood on each side of the throne giggled for a second, but quickly stifled their happy grins. Sao Feng's reaction was entirely opposite. The grimace on his face only increased, caused his face to contort a little bit. His hand trembled slightly as he reached for his head. Being bald, one could clearly notice the scar on his left side as he walked towards the left side of the room. "There is only one reason I would ever get Jack Sparrow back from the land of the dead." He lifted his foot. "So I could send him back myself!" He kicked at a bucket of water, dumping it over the floor.

Barbossa took a spot beside Sao Feng. "If it were not for such circumstances, I would want Jack dead a hundred times more than you do," he promised. "But he holds one of the nine pieces of eight. He did not pass it to a successor before he died. That is why we must get him back."

The eyes of the Singaporean pirate trailed up to the back of another sailor in the room. He had the appearance of a man who might serve him, but was clearly in disguise. The dragon tatoo on the back of his right shoulder was dripping, fading away. "So you all admit that you have deceived me, yes?" He rapidly drew his sword. "Weapons!"

All at once, the people sitting in the baths arose, each one holding a sword that had been concealed beneath the water. With all their weapons left in the previous room and such an overwhelming force, it looked like the trio would be done for.

* * *

Hearing the commotion, Gibbs motioned to the others. "That's the signal!" he whispered loudly. "Get the weapons!" He, Steven, Cotton, and Ragetti each took up a sword and held it beneath the floor boards. They slipped the blades beneath the cracks and prepared to aid their allies.

"Wait a minute!" Steven stopped, staying still. "Will the handles even fit through the floor?" But there wasn't time to discuss this, so he steadied his position and prepared to push the sword through the floor.

* * *

"Sao Feng!" Barbossa cried. "Our intentions are purely honorable!" He and Elizabeth held up their hands, as if they were simply gesturing, but the swords hidden below were tossed up and the two expertly caught them in their hands. Now that they were armed, Sora pulled his hand back, summoning his Keyblade. Some of the men in the room were startled at the appearance of a magical weapon, but they still held the numbers.

Sao Feng desperately grabbed the imposter that he had caught. "Drop your weapons, or this man dies!"

Sora tilted his head at this statement. "Are you crazy? That's one of your own men you have hostage!"

"What?" Sao Feng took another look at the man. "He is not mine!"

"He's not with you?" Will asked. "But he's not with us either." He looked back and forth in the room. "So who's he with?"

Yelling near the entrance soon gave way to the answer. The folding dividers between the entrance and the throne room were knocked over, giving way to several British soldiers in navy-blue uniforms and officers in a slightly brighter blue. The Singaporean sailors gave war cries and started to charge, but many of them were immediately dealt with by the fire from the bayonets the soldiers used.

Will was still trapped by the log, but he managed to step out onto solid ground. He deflected blows with his log, moving his body accordingly. He thudded one soldier in the chest to stun him and then slammed him into the air a few feet, knocking him into one of the tubs. He turned to an officer, who swung a sword at him. He diverted the blade to slide towards the rope on his right-hand wrist, giving him leverage to pull himself free and strike back.

"Will!" Elizabeth tossed her second sword to Will, putting him back into his natural element of combat. The two each blocked a weapon, then dodged to the side and put the two officers that they had defended against into a clash, giving them a moment to finish them off.

Even the twin servants of Sao Feng could hold their own in battle. Very well, in fact. They fought as a team. One of them was able to kick backwards, lifting their leg high enough to reach the chest of a soldier. The other did a simple kick and stunned a second soldier. Then they switched targets and stabbed their opponents.

As more soldiers marched in from various passages leading into the throne room, there was another man here. Beckett's head officer, Mercer, marched into the room among more soldiers. When they split apart, he pulled up his own gun. Will could see him, and immediately rushed to Elizabeth. He pulled her aside as Mercer fired. They escaped the gunshot, but the bullet implanted itself into the forehead of one of the servant girls, who fell into her sister's arms. He was soon pulled aside by another quarrel, but the remaining twin shot a sharp glare at him.

A time came where Sao Feng, Sora, Barbossa, Elizabeth, and Will found themselves gathered together, just as a group of soldiers made a formation of eight and pointed their guns at the group. "Ready!" They all aimed their guns. "Fire!"

"Reflect!" Sora held out his Keyblade and created a barrier before the group. However, instead of the guns firing at them, there was an explosion at the ground beneath the feet of the soldiers. The blast giving way to the room beneath and caused them to literally fall into dissarray. Sora blinked in brief confusion, but then he remembered his allies that lurked beneath.

"Go!" he yelled to the others, who rushed for the entrance. Will and Elizabeth ran out first, staying together and pushing through the crowd of other escaped pirates.

"Charts!" Sao Feng barked. Tai Huang tossed the rolled-up bundle towards the door. It landed securely beneath Sao Feng's arm, giving the captain a green light to run away from the scene.

From the hole made in the floor, more allies emerged. Gibbs was the first, carrying two pistols that he fired into the crowd. Cotton came next, carrying a small rifle that he aimed and fired almost immediately. Pintel and Ragett charged out next, firing their guns as Steven ran out behind them. Marty was the last, carrying a blunderbuss of his own, with a blasting power intense enough to vault him back into the hole they had just created.

Steven looked around and sighed. "The British are here?" He shook his head in disappointment. "What a buzzkill." He heard some screams just outside the building. He ran out to see what the matter was. In practically an instant, a good portion of the people running away had kicked it into high gear. Dark circles formulated on the ground, giving way to a pack of Neo-Shadow Heartless.

"Okay, now it's time for the real fight!"

Steven gasped softly upon hearing Sora's voice, then smirked wildly as he called out his Keyblade. His friend jumped through the air and landed in front of Steven while Steven himself brought up the rear. The streets were deserted, save for a few in the distance who stayed back to watch these warriors do their work.

Sora advanced first, taking a swing at one of them. It struck, wounding it. Sora swung again, only to have it retreat back into the ground and come back up behind him. Sora could feel its movements, but instead he pressed forward and sliced another one. Steven leapt in the air as the first one prepared to spring at Sora, landing nearby and slamming his Keyblade upon the Heartless before it could move any further.

But another was lurking up behind Steven, and it jumped up to latch upon his back. "AHH!" Steven squirmed around a bit, swinging it around a little. "Get off of me!"

Sora cut down a couple more of his own opponents before noticing Steven was in trouble. "Hold still!" he urged, lifting his Keyblade and edging closer.

"Are you _insane!_" Steven howled. None the less, he went still. "We don't have time for you to get a clear shot!" He reached his hands back and took a firm grip upon the Neo-Shadow's feelers. Almost instantly, it released Steven, wincing in pain. This was the chance Steven took to duck down and fling it forward, slamming it into a wall. Then he ran forward and stabbed right through it before it even had a chance to slide down to the ground.

Sora blinked in astonishment, then threw his Keyblade back at the remaining crowd of Heartless, all of which took a hit from the attack. He took their moment of being stunned to speak to Steven. "I've never tried taking a Heartless down like that before."

Steven sighed heavily as he pulled his Keyblade away from the wall. "Heartless aren't totally invincible against the old-school style, Sora."

"Then maybe _I'll _give it a try." Sora rushed over and kicked one of the subdued Heartless into a wall. He turned around and kicked a second one and caused it to collide with a third. His attacks resulted in the destruction of all three.

"Not bad," Steven complimented. He stepped over quickly and plunged his Keyblade into the last one standing, twisting it for good measure. "But I think it's about time we split." He waved to the people. "We'd stay for the parade in our honor, but we've got places to be!" He and Sora sprinted through the strees after that, heading through the city and tussling briefly with any British soldier who would try to get in their way.

* * *

Will and Elizabeth split up again, taking on their own opponents as they traversed through the water-based city. Will's expertise in swordplay was beyond a good match for the soldier he fought against. With a few well-placed strikes, he disarmed the man and slammed into him with his body, knocking him over the rail and into the water.

In the hut just behind him, a muffled yell of a struggling fighter was heard, suddenly silenced by a gunshot. Mercer sheathed his sword and pocketed his pistol, walking away from his handiwork. Lying dead on the floor behind him was the other servant twin, who had failed to avenge her sister...

No sooner had Will regained the bit of energy used for his struggle moments ago that he was pulled into the tent by Sao Feng, who held his sword dangerously close to Will's throat. Mercer ducked behind some boxes, taking cover and staying out of sight. "What a coincidence it is that the East India Trading Company would find me the exact day you show up in Singapore, aye?"

"Aye, because it is only coincidence." Will pushed Sao Feng's arm and gripped it, keeping the sword away from him. He spun around and held Sao Feng against the supported fabric wall of the tent. Mercer took the opportunity to ready his pistol, lifting it subtly so that Will was in his sight. "You want to make a deal with Beckett, and you need what I offer." Mercer raised an eyebrow, listening.

"You will cross Barbossa," Sao Feng growled. "And you are willing to cross Jack Sparrow. Why should I expect you not to cross me?"

"I need the _Black Pearl_ to free my father." Will gently released Sao Feng and stepped back from him. "You can help me to get it."

* * *

Outisde, an outbreak was loose. The soldiers left very little wiggle room for anybody who ran. Against the pirates, though, they had the lower hand. They managed to lay waste to a few men, but for every one shot down, a few of their own were then eliminated. But what few of the pirates failed to count on was the Heartless. A few of the larger parties of troops were accompanied by fierce Neo-Shadows.

The few that could could combat them succeeded quite a bit in doing so, though. Barbossa, for instance, fought against several on the bridge. Having had some experience controlling these creatures, he could adequately combat them in return.

"Ye call yourselves monsters?" Barbossa scoffed. "You barely measure up as a horror compared to myself!" One leapt at him while he spoke, but he immediately thrust his his sword through its head, then finished it off with a pistol shot to its torso. It's body faded form the blade, leaving it clean. Barbossa cackled wildly, and swung his blade once again.

He was about to be provided with assistance from a spot only a few yards away from the bridge. Within view of his struggle, Jack the monkey spotted Barbossa and took up a single firework. He rested it on top of a crate, pointing it towards the fight. Then he hopped down and went to retrieve a candle, which he place next to the fuse of the firework.

"AWK! Fire in the hole!" Cotton's parrot squawked.

"Huh?" Steven ran steadily into the area, followed by Sora. They were just in time to see the firework being lit. "Ooh, fireworks! Let's watch it, Sora!"

"Steven!" Sora gestured to the bridge. "Barbossa's surrounded!"

Before Sora was able to commence with his rescue, the firework went off and zipped in between the ropes of the bridge. It knocked one of the Heartless into the water, where it struggled wildly, but unable to stay afloat and sinking. The firework flew past it and crashed into more fireworks. The flame caused a few more to ignite, which in turn ignited even more. Eventually, the overload of so many being lit in a small area overwhelmed it.

BOOOM!

There was a giant explosion where the fireworks were. It created a chain reaction, an incredible force that blew apart a very large wooden structure and sending many British soldiers standing nearby into the water or giving them horrible burns. But no matter what the damage, quite a few were incapacitated. More importantly, the yellow eyes of the Neo-Shadows were trained on the bright lights. Barbossa took the chance to swipe at them, striking left, right, and then spinning in a circle with his blade to cut them all down. With a satisfied sigh, he turned to face his little helper. "Thank you, Jack!"

Steven blinked, then looked down at Jack. "You did that?" The crafty monkey made a sound that sounded like a small chuckle. "Well, way to go!" he congratulated. He held out his arm, and Jack happily scrambled up it, coming to a stop once he had taken a perch on top of Steven's head.

Despite the situation's seriousness, Sora laughed softly at the sight of Steven with a monkey on his head. "I like your new hat."

"Thanks, Sora," Steven replied playfully. "It's a rare find."

"Don't waste time, now." Barbossa walked briskly up to them. "We be going nowhere without the charts. Now come." He jerked his head quickly as he began to walk again. "We need to find Sao Feng."

"Alright." Sora nodded back. He motioned to the remaining animal. "Come on, parrot."

"AWK! Missed a spot!" The parrot fluttered over to Sora and perched on his shoulder as he started to follow Barbossa. When they reached the end of the bridge, more footsteps echoed near them. From a hut, the figure in a straw hat whose face was mostly concealed by beads joined their group, lifting the hat and tossing it aside as they did so.

"Welcome back, Tia," Sora welcomed.

"The plan goes smoothly?" Tia Dalma asked.

"Look around," Barbossa encouraged. "See for yourself."

Tia did so, and she smiled as she observed the other members of the crew slowly regrouping. "Nobody died," she mused. "That seems like good progress."

"AWK! Mutiny!" Cotton's parrot fluttered from Sora's shoulder and returned to that of Cotton's. Sora watched it happen, then nodded softly to Cotton, who gave a quick thumbs-up as reassurance.

Then Tia Dalma spotted Will, followed by several sailors of Singapore, carrying the charts in his hands. "And our goal has been fulfilled too."

Barbossa stepped forward to address Will. "I see you have the charts. Do we have a ship?"

"And a crew," Will answered, noting the men behind him. "Sao Feng will cover our escape, and he's agreed to meet us at Shipwreck Cove. We'd better get moving now."

The ship they sailed in, while old, was crewed very well by the men Sao Feng had provided them, represented as a group by their escort, Tai Huang. They sailed away as the battle continued, turning the town among the sea into an inferno.

Elizabeth followed Tia Dalma to the bow of the ship, overlooking their path as they set sail. "His only place left to cower is in ruins," Elizabeth noted. "Do you believe he'll honor the call?"

Tia shook her head with uncertainty. "I do not know," she answered. "The evil spreading through the seas is one that even the most vile, bloodthirsty pirates have come to fear."

* * *

Lord Cutler Beckett's decree was taking a heavy toll in the New World, with over a hundred executions having taken place of pirates and the associates of pirates. But as long as there were stragglers, there was a risk. Of course, with the _Flying Dutchma_n added to his fleet, he had little to worry about beyond that.

Sitting in his cabin-office aboard his own ship, he twirled a silver coin in his hand, one recovered from the throne room in Singapore. "Nine pieces of eight?"

"Yes, sir," Mercer replied. "Nine pieces. Our new friend from Singapore emphasized that."

"What could their significance be?" Beckett wondered.

"Why does it matter?" Mercer smiled, a rare occasion for him. "Nothing can stand against us. We have the Heartless, we have the armada, and we have the _Flying Dutchman_ at the lead."

"Not necessarily," Beckett corrected. "From what I've heard, these Keyblade bearers tend to create miracles wherever they travel. That will certainly have to be dealt with in some way." He looked back up to his associate. "Did our new friend mention where the Brethren Court are going to meet?"

"He was mum to that, unfortunately." Beckett frowned.

"Then this man does know that certain information has greater value." He sat up neatly in his chair and turned his attention to the door leading into the cabin, where a man in a blue uniform entered, awaiting further acknowledgement. "Ah, Admiral Norrington."

James Norrington had regained much from turning in the heart of Jones over to Beckett. He had surpassed his former rank as commodore, now becoming an admiral. "You summoned me, my Lord?"

"I did," Beckett confirmed. He leaned over to the floor and lifted a long black box. "I have something for you here." Norrington marched slowly over to the desk and opened up the box. Resting inside was a sword, one he was very familiar with. He lifted the scabbard and took hold of the handle, withdrawing it.

"Is this-?" He couldn't speak more than those two words.

"I believe that your new station deserved the company of an old friend." Beckett stood up. Though mostly talking to himself, he was addressing the entire room. Mercer, Norrington, his guards-

Even Governor Swann, who was stationed at a desk across from him, signing several papers. Recently, the requisition orders for the fugitive pirates had been recalled. They had now been replaced with execution warrants.

"Pirates know their time is coming," Beckett affirmed. "The only thing that remains is the location of their final stand."

He nodded to Mercer and exited the cabin. Mercer followed behind him and up to the deck. Beckett removed a small telescope from his pocket and extended it so he could view a ship in the distance. Littered with fire and rubble, he could see that there was little to see of the ship other than a pile of scrap.

"Bloody hell," he murmered. "There's nothing left of it."

"Jones is a loose cannon, my Lord," Mercer warned. "He hasn't left a single one alive."

Beckett sighed gently. "Fetch the chest," he ordered.

"And what of Governor Swann?" Mercer wondered. "He's been a little too curious about the heart."

"Does he know?" Beckett looked to Mercer, receiving only silence. After analyzing his ally's expression, Beckett turned away. "Then I guess his usefulness has run its course."

* * *

The sea, once a fairly secure place to sail for the average pirate, was covered in a blanket of darkness, even if the sun was shining upon it.

Upon unsuspecting vessels, the ship carved in the likeness of a crocodile, the _Flying Dutchman_, erupted without warning from the depths of the ocean. Foregoing its invincible method of using their sea-dwelling beast, the ship instead relied on its advantage against ships going against the wind and fired its cannons relentlessly upon any pirate ship it would come across. No survivors were found, and none were taken prisoner, only executed.

Within the ship, Davy Jones resided. This man turned monster, a once-feared captain that roamed the seas, no longer took pride in such destruction. He was not answering to himself anymore. He was forced by the East India Trading Company to carry out a campaign to eliminate the pirates. Only two things remained that kept him sane. One was his organ, which he played a solemn, sad tune on rather than a violent one.

The other was his heart-shaped locket, one he had received so long ago. Even years later, its sweet, innocent tune gave him a bit of comfort as he remained in his inactive state. His eyes squinted into a miserable, sad face, and a single tear hung from his eye.

This was not expected. Jones moved a tentacle to his eye and lifted the tear up before him, taking a long moment to register what this was. Then his squid-like face compressed with rage. A tear could only mean the presence of...it.

The deck of the _Dutchman_ was soon crowded with several soldiers clad in their usual navy-blue attire. The ship's crew stood watching in confusion, but stepped aside to allow their storming captain to the front of the pack. Jones took a single look at a pair of redcoats, his eyes immediately settling on the black box in their grasp.

"Go away, all of you," Jones demanded. "And take that infernal thing with you. It has no place upon my ship!"

"Is that so?" Beckett stepped through the crowd, waving the redcoats aside. "Then consider this your final warning. You don't want the chest here, but this ship continues to fail in performing the duties given to it by the company." He moved closer to Jones, speaking more directly. "We need prisoners to interrogate. That tends to get very difficult if they are dead."

Davy Jones sputtered at his superior with malice. "The _Dutchman_ will sail the way its captain commands it!"

"And its captain will sail the way he is commanded!" Beckett fired back. He leaned in closer, muttering in a low voice to the fish-man before him. "I thought that this would be clear to you when I introduced your pet to the Heartless." Jones shuddered at the memory, but tried to keep his stature. "Do not forget what the Heartless feed upon, Jones. The world isn't yours anymore. Your agenda has become immaterial to mine." He stepped away. "As you wish, I shall keep the chest aboard my own ship. But that will remain only as long as you remain in line."

Beckett departed the ship, followed by his soldiers. Jones was left aboard deck to ponder his next actions. "Oh, and just in case there is any doubt..." He motioned to Mercer, who stood in the shadows beneath the stairs. Stepping into view, the grim-faced man snapped his fingers. Dark orbs opened up in the air, giving way to Sky Soldier Heartless, a total of ten. They all began to circle the ship, prepared to take action should anything happen.

* * *

The Singaporean ship sailed for the remainder of the day, and continued on through the night. The crew stayed busy, following the charts that they had acquired. Though to be fair, they were incredibly hard to decipher. It wasn't much a map as it was a puzzle. There were rings to rotate, and they didn't fit in one place. Several different rotations created different images, leading on different paths.

"Nothing here is in place," Will mused, turning the rings. "These can't be accurate as modern charts."

"They are not," Tai Huang confirmed. "But it leads to places of greater importance."

Will sighed, then turned a few more rings. Some lettering matched up as he turned one ring, and found a place for it to settle. "Over the edge, over again." He scanned to a lower part of the chart. "Sunrise sets, flash of green." He rolled the chart into a bundle again and carried it to the helm of the ship, handing them off. "Care to interpret..._Captain_ Barbossa?"

Barbossa smirked softly. "That title feels good to have again," he mused. He opened up the chart and read it to himself. "Master Gibbs!" he called. "Ever gaze upon the green flash?"

"I've seen me fair share." Gibbs stepped from the railing and walked over to them. "It's a rare phenomenon. At the last glimpse of sunset, a flash of green light shoots into the sky. Many go their whole lives without seeing it, many claim they have seen one. Many say that it signals a soul returning to the world...from the dead."

Sora overheard this from the bottom of the stairs, and he walked upstairs to confirm his suspicion. "Which will happen once we get Jack back, right?"

"Aye, it would seem so," Barbossa agreed. "But trust me, boys, getting to the Locker won't be so difficult now. The tricky part will be getting _back_."

On deck, Pintel, Ragetti, and Steven were all huddled together. It was evening, and fairly cold outside. Pintel and Ragetti at least had light coats, but Steven's shirt didn't even have sleeves on it.

"This is the worst outfit for this occasion," he concluded. "Unless I were also wearing shorts."

"Why don't you just make a fire, Steve?" Ragetti asked. "That'd warm us up, alright."

"Fire on a ship made of wood?" Pintel sneered. "Sure, that'll go well."

"Oh..." Ragetti shrugged softly, rubbing his freezing hands together for warmth. "I'm sure there's a good reason we're suffering."

"Karma, maybe?" Steven suggested.

"Maybe we're wasting our time," Pintel brought up. "Barbossa was brought back by that voodoo lady. Why not Jack?"

"That's...a good point." Steven arose. "Let's go talk to her." Pintel and Ragetti briskly stood up and followed Steven to the bow of the ship, where Tia looked out to sea, fingering a small heart-shaped locket around her neck. "Miss Tia?" She looked up at her approaching company. "We were all wondering...if this was necessary. This trip, we mean."

"It is necessary," she answered. "Unless you decide we can do without Jack, which we cannot."

"Of course," Ragetti. "But why this way?"

"Yeah." Pintel nodded in agreement. "Why can't you bring Jack back the same way you did with Barbossa?"

"Barbossa left a body behind when he died," Tia Dalma pointed out. "Jack Sparrow's entire being was taken to a place of punishment, not death. The worst fate he can bring about himself is what awaits him in the Locker. Death is a fate where one may rest for eternity. What Sparrow endures is far worse." There was a short pause as the three comprehended her words.

"I knew there was a good reason," Ragetti thought out loud.

No sooner had he spoken that there was a rumble beneath the ship. The water seemed to be picking up, and every passenger could tell that it was nothing ordinary.

"What's going on?" Steven asked, holding onto a railing in case the ship went too crazy.

"Remember this," Tia Dalma spoke, facing the sea still. "There is always a cost to be paid for what we want most."

Steven saw this as nothing more than a riddle, and didn't have time to think about it. Instead, he rushed down the stairs, running across the deck. "Hey!" he yelled, attracting the attention of those at the helm. "What's happening?" He took a moment to catch his breath, holding himself up by one hand against the ship's wheel. "We're going faster all of a sudden?"

Barbossa took a look out to sea. Seconds later, a wide grin formed upon his face. "We're straight on course!" he declared. "We're good and lost now!"

"What do you mean lost?" Sora cried out. "You said we were on course!"

"And I meant it," Barbossa replied. "In my experience, you must be lost to find places that can't be found, or else everyone would know where it was."

Rushing to correct this, Will sprinted to the deck. "Hard to port! All hands, hard to port!" Many sailors rushed to comply, tugging at the sails desperately to try and turn the ship around.

"Nay, belay that!" Barbossa ordered. "Let her run her full course, straight and true!"

"You're mad!" Elizabeth cried. "You're going to doom us all!"

"That part was true anyway," Barbossa reminded. "Did you think that getting to the land of the dead would not require us to die ourselves?"

"What?" Sora gasped. "What's going on? Where is this taking us?"

"Exactly where we've always been headed, Master Sora: the gate at World's End to Davy Jones' Locker!" Barbossa answered. "Now tell me, what happens when you pass the end of something?"

Sora's mind pieced together this logic, and he peered over the railing to see their path up ahead. What he say made him gasp and stare with wide eyes. "Oh no..." He stared at the water, which was slowly getting more violent as they progressed. But as far as the water went, he could tell that a waterfall awaited them at the end, an incredibly tall waterfall.

With desperation, Sora ran down the stairs and hopped down to the arch before the door to the captain's cabin. He jumped lightly and took hold of a wooden support. He swung up a little bit, clinging with his legs as well. "Everyone grab onto something! We're about to go off the edge!"

Seeing his friend's struggle for a secure hold, Steven immediately took it upon himself to gather a rope. He faced the mast and stretched the rope around him, turning it a few times before he pulled tighter. "Guys, help me out!" Pintel and Ragetti came immediately to Steven's aid. "Tie me in!"

The two pirates nodded, pulling the two ends of the rope tighter. Steven winced slightly from the small pain it brought, but he toughed it out. At least he'd be secure for the fall into Davy Jone's Locker. He took hold of the mast with his arms after the knots had been completed. "Now you guys find something to hold onto!"

Pintel and Ragetti looked to each other, looking around the ship. A moment later, they darted for the captain's cabin, ducking beneath the staircases and preparing to take hold of the bottom parts of the stairs in case the worse should happen.

Little by little, all of the crew managed to find a handhold that would keep them safe for the plunge into the realm of punishment. Once they were down there, they had to rescue Jack. Their ship surely wouldn't survive the fall, and the _Black Pearl_ was down there with him, the only vessel they could hope to use.

The stations of the ship abandoned in the interest of safety, there was nothing left to stop the ship from continuing its course. Nearing the waterfall, it rotated very quickly to its side before it cleared the edge.

Will gripped a post tightly, his muscles flexing tightly as he struggled to maintain his safety. "Hold on!" he called to everyone.

A moment later, the ship began to tip. Anything not tied down began to slide down the deck, some articles falling overboard. Everyone cried out in fear and took a more firm hold of the ship. The exception was Barbossa, who cackled madly as the ship fell down the deep chasm. Darkness surrounded the ship and the sailors aboard it as their journey came to an end.


	21. Captain Jack is Back

Sora forced himself to wade through the water to shore. "Finally!" he gasped. He had been swimming lazily for most of the trip to the sandy terrain and he now was willing himself to stand up. Shaking his ever-spiky hair free of water, he looked all around him. The rest of the crew was likewise making their way to the beach. Some had already come ashore.

Gibbs was the first to speak of the sights they saw. "This truly is a god-forsaken place." He was not wrong in any way. Nothing but beach was in sight, littered with wreckage from barrels and ships.

Pintel trudged forward at the head of the trio. "It don't seem like suffering," he observed. "Just...nothing."

"Maybe that's the suffering in itself," Ragetti offered, walking beside him. "Boredom can be the worst suffering of all at times."

"We just got here." The two looked behind them to see Steven crawling across the sand, drenched entirely. They helped him to his feet, upon which Steven shook his head, spraying some of the salty water in his hair around. "I doubt we'd start going insane this quickly."

Elizabeth scanned the beach from left to right. "I don't see Jack," she announced. "I don't see anyone here except us."

"You can be sure he is here," Barbossa declared. "Once Jones has taken something, he dare not let it go."

"So what?" Will argued. "We're trapped here, no different than Jack, so what do you expect us to do?"

Unbeknownst to the others, Tia Dalma was watching a sand dune in the distance. She gently stroked a white crab that had crawled near her. Still unnoticed, a few more crawled beneath her large skirt-like garment, seemed to vanish as soon as they were hidden beneath it.

"Witty Jack is closer than you think," she promised. Her eyes stayed eagerly trained upon the dune only a quick run away from their current location. A black speck emerged from behind it. Then a post revealed itself. Soon the structure of a ship could be seen rising from the sand. It glided up the dune almost seamlessly as if it were drifting in the water.

"That's not possible..." Tai Huang gasped softly.

The _Black Pearl_ came into sight. As it reached a point above the dune, its balance tipped it forward and gravity took over. The great ship slid down the hill of sand and glided across the shore. As it drew closer, the crew could see a massive pack of crabs beneath the ship, scuttling and running in sync with each other to carry the ship.

Steven raised his eyebrow high in contrast to his other eye. "That is _not_ right. How the heck would _crabs_ be able to haul that ship all the way to shore across sand?" Just as soon as he had finished saying it, he felt a sting in his chest. He looked to see where it had come from and flinched again when he saw that Tia was giving him a harsh glare. Taking this as a sign, he decided it best to shut his mouth.

The ship floated out into shallow water, but the ladder had already been dropped down the side of the ship and the only figure who could've possibly been aboard was now descending onto the beach.

"Slap me thrice and hand me to my mother!" Gibbs cackled. "It's Jack!"

"Jack!" Sora called. Happily, he followed the group that was beginning to swarm towards the captain. Elizabeth smiled and made to follow, but hesitated. Jack would not necessarily be so pleased to see her.

Gibbs took lead of the pack that swept across the beach to greet the captain. Sora followed closely. He was trailed by Will and Barbossa, who were followed by Steven, Pintel, and Ragetti. Cotton and Marty were the next in line. Tia followed that group with Elizabeth taking the next spot. The crowd behind them consisted of Tai Huang and twelve Chinese sailors.

"Captain, we've found ya!" Gibbs shouted.

Jack marched forward eagerly. "That you have. Good job!" He held his arms above his head. "My fellow Sparrows, we are reunited once again!"

"Sparrows?" Sora repeated. "What's going on?"

"He's been here a month," Will offered. "Who bets that reality has snapped for him?"

Steven blinked, pondering Jack's statement. "Was I just adopted?"

Barbossa made quick work of taking action on this issue. He marched forward, getting closer to Jack. Jack seemed unphased by his old enemy's approach.

"Mr. Sparrow!" Jack declared. Unbeknownst to the others, Jack was not seeing his crew as themselves, but instead they were portrayed in his image. Mostly. "I notice that you have added a hat highly reminiscent of the one worn by my old first mate to your wardrobe. I'm going to say that I don't very much approve of-" Barbossa lifted his right arm to his left shoulder and swung it at Jack's face. Jack felt the slap in his consciousness as well as his cheek. His vision blurred and flashed. By the time he turned back to reprimand the offending Sparrow, he found himself staring at Barbossa, who stared menacingly into Jack's eyes, wearing a wide smirk on his face.

"Oh...hello, Hector," Jack greeted casually.

"He's back to...himself," Sora answered after hesitation, feeling 'normal' was an inappropriate word to describe this situation.

"Aw, man..." Steven sighed. "For about ten seconds, I had a father...it felt nice."

Jack stayed silent until he thought of an ice-breaker for a conversation with Barbossa. "So...been a long time, eh?"

"Aye, too long," Barbossa answered. "Lots of good times we've had in the past, Jack. Remember at Isle De Muerta?" His playful smirk vanished. "You shot me."

Jack opened up his mouth a bit, struggling for an answer. "No I didn't," he attested. He moved to the next person in the crowd. "Oh, and Mr. Gibbs, I hope you have an explanation for the obvious lack of discipline aboard my vessel as of late."

"Er, Jack..." Gibbs leaned in to whisper. "You're in Davy Jone's Locker, Cap'n."

Jack's breath forcibly held itself as Jack stood where he was. He closed his eyes. "I know that. Don't you dare think that I'm not aware of where I am." He moved down a few more places and looked upon Tia Dalma. "So you're here too, eh? Good. You add a remarkable touch of macabre to this delirium of mine."

Will rolled his eyes. "Wonderful. Now he thinks we're an illusion."

"Dear William, let me ask you this," Jack began, marching up to face Will next. "Are you here because you need my help in rescuing your fiance yet again?"

Will sighed quietly, annoyed that Jack had insulted Elizabeth. "No, I'm not," he said firmly.

"If that is the case, you wouldn't be here, correct?" Jack pointed out. "By that logic, you can't be here. So in any and all explanations, you're not really here!"

"Jack!" Elizabeth stepped from the rear portion of the group, revealing herself. "This is real. All of us are here."

Jack's confident smile seemed to wither slowly when he saw Elizabeth. He went back to Gibbs for reassurance. "The Locker, you say?"

"Aye," Gibbs confirmed.

"Oh bugger..." Jack muttered.

Sora stepped out confidently. "We came to get you out of here, Jack! This is a rescue!"

"Is that so?" Jack challenged. "Sora, I'd ordinarily believe you, but the tides have changed up a bit. I am the only one here with a ship, so it is actually _you_ that needs to be rescued and I'm not sure I'm feeling generous today."

"I see my ship perfectly fine," Barbossa taunted. He lifted his arm towards the ocean. "It's right there."

Jack leaned up beside Barbossa to look where he was pointing. He lifted his hand over his eyes to look out the sea, looking directly upon the _Black Pearl_. He groaned inwardly, but he kept his tone ignorant. "Is it invisible?" he asked. "Or is it just hiding somewhere behind the _Pearl_?"

"Jack!" Sora stepped forward. "You need our help as much as we need yours."

"Beckett has the heart of Davy Jones," Will added, stepping up beside Jack.

Elizabeth followed suit. "He's taken over the seas!"

"The song has been sung, Jack," Tia Dalma informed.

"We are to convene the Brethren Court, Jack," Barbossa finished. "And you must attend."

"So to sum it up, everything's gone to pot?" Jack realized. "It's a wonder what can happen when I leave you people alone for five minutes."

"Aye! The world needs you back, Cap'n!" Gibbs agreed.

"And you need a crew," Will stated. "You can't sail the _Pearl_ by yourself."

"Be that as it may," Jack began, "I'm a little unsteady about sailing with any of you. Four of you have tried to kill me before. One succeeded." He pointed a few telltale fingers at Elizabeth, who was standing at Will's side. Within a few seconds, everybody had turned to look at her. A surprised Elizabeth hung her mouth open, twitching. "She hasn't told you yet?" Jack smirked. "Well, I suppose you'll have a lot to talk about while you're here."

Sora looked at Elizabeth in shock. She didn't turn back to make eye contact, but she could practically feel Sora's stare anyway. She wanted to speak out and explain to everybody why she had done it, but this was not the time or place. Too many were around.

"Now, as dear William mentioned, I cannot crew the _Pearl_ by myself," Jack pointed. "So form a line and I'll select a crew." Surprisingly, the group obediently formed a line, save for Tai Huang. He stood at the head of his crew of men. Jack began to pace down the line, selecting a few. "Gibbs, you can come. Marty, Cotton-"

"AWK!"

Jack shrugged. "Cotton's parrot, I'm a little iffy. Then again, it'll give me someone to talk to." He continued his selection with Pintel and Ragetti. "You two scare me, so you're out." He came across Tia Dalma next. "And you..."

Tia snickered. "Now, Sparrow," she spoke gently, running a couple of fingers beneath his beard. "Don't tell me you did not enjoy it at the time."

Jack turned away bashfully for a moment, then nodded. "Fair enough. You can come too." He passed over Elizabeth, Will, and Barbossa without a word and came to Sora. "Er...Uh..." Jack fingered his beard in deep thought for several moments.

"This seems like a harder decision than it needs to be, Jack," Sora replied. "The fact that I'm here should prove that I'm doing a whole lot for you." "

Jack could not argue with such logic. "Sora, I'll let you come. But for God's sake, you've got to stop making me owe you my life so much."

He stepped up to Steven. "You're out. You're friends with people who scare me." Steven opened his mouth to protest. Jack held up a hand to stop him and pointed to Pintel and Ragetti to prove his point. Steven leaned forward to look down at them. After a moment's thought, he nodded in agreement with Jack. "I thought so." Jack's final option was now before him. "And who are you?"

Tai Huang stood upright. "I am Tai Huang." He nodded to the sailors behind him. "These are my men."

"I see," Jack acknowledged. "Where do you put your allegiance?"

"I serve the highest bidder," Tai Huang replied.

"I have a ship," Jack offered.

Tai Huang smiled. "Then you're the highest bidder."

Jack smiled. "Good man!" He reached into his pocket. "Prepare to cast off!" Every crew member he had selected moved immediately towards the _Black Pearl_ while Jack removed his compass from his pocket. Opening it up, he waited for the arrow to settle on a direction. He felt he'd be waiting for a while due to the arrow continuing to uncertainly spin and never settling anywhere for more than a second at a time.

"Jack!" Barbossa drummed his fingers upon the charts in his hand. "Which way you going, Jack?"

* * *

"Trim that sail!" Barbossa called.

"Trim that sail!" Jack copied.

"Slack windward braces!"

"Slack the braces!"

"Haul that pennant line!"

"Haul the pennant line!"

Barbossa whirled to face Jack. "What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing?" Jack demanded.

"No, what _are_ you doing?" Barbossa argued.

"What are _YOU_ doing!" Jack challenged.

"No! What _ARE_ you doing?" Barbossa continued.

"What are you..." Jack forced himself to cease this argument before he stood firmly before Barbossa. "On a ship, the captain gives the orders."

"The captain of the ship _is_ giving orders!" Barbossa insisted.

"It's my ship," Jack reminded. "That makes me the captain."

"They be my charts," Barbossa returned. "So it be _my_ ship!"

"For the love of..." Steven turned away from the railing he leaned against and stormed over. "Will you both shut up? We don't care who the ship belongs to! Let's just figure out how to get out of this place! Consider that an order, understand?" Jack and Barbossa stared at Steven. At first, they were in shock. But it wasn't a slow transition to a harsh glare. At that time, Steven realized that he might be overreacting. "Uh...sorry. I just wanted to get everything going and stuff...hehe..." He stepped away frantically and rejoined Pintel and Ragetti by the railing.

"Quite some guts, mate," Pintel complimented.

"I'm surprised I still have them," Steven replied, still a bit shaken from the encounter. "That was probably the ballsiest thing I've said to...anybody."

Ragetti clapped him on the back. "If we voted for a new captain, I'd nominate you."

* * *

Below deck, Elizabeth stayed away from the activity. She stared solemnly towards the lower walls of the _Black Pearl_'s interior. Silent footsteps behind her and they soon took the form of Will. He stood about six feet away from her and looked down at her.

"You left Jack to the Kraken?" Will asked.

Elizabeth sighed. "He's rescued now. It's over." WIll closed his eyes gently and turned away from her. Elizabeth rose to her feet and moved a couple of steps closer. "Will, I had no choice," she pleaded.

"You made the choice not to tell me," Will replied.

"It was my burden to bear," Elizabeth said. "Not yours."

"I did bear it, though." Will walked up to his fiance and shook his head. "All this time, I had no idea what it was. I thought..." His words became mute, but Elizabeth caught on quickly.

"You thought I loved him?" she gasped.

She made to leave, but Will grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "If you're going to make decisions like this on your own, how am I supposed to trust you?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "You can't." Her arm slid from Will's grip and she stormed for the deck. Will was left in silence, struck in confusion.

* * *

The evening arrived and the ship glided peacefully across the dark water. Much of the crew was either relaxing at their post or simply sleeping. Pintel and Ragetti had grown bored once there was no work to be done, so they brought Steven to the bow to fish for a bit.

Ragetti was next in line to cast out the pole and twine that they used. So he took hold of it, reared his hands behind his shoulder, and threw it forward, throwing the line out. "So how do you reckon we get out?"

"We follow the charts," Pintel assumed. "We got here with them. Maybe they move around to show a way back."

"We got here by falling down a waterfall," Steven reminded. "How the heck would we get back? It's not like we can climb up the waterfall."

Ragetii felt a tug on the pole and he acted swiftly to keep hold of it. "I got something!" He pulled the large stick back to dig the hook into whatever he had caught. "It's real heavy, too!"

Steven peered over the side. "I think I see it. It's really pale, but it's huge!"

Pintel took hold of the pole as well. He and Ragetti pulled together. "I don't think anybody ever caught a fish as big as- AAGH!" He dropped the pole in shock, causing Ragetti to be overwhelmed and lose his grip. Their pole dropped into the water, but now the thing it had hooked was floating by. It looked a lot like a person due to its ragged clothing and its skin was a sickly pale combination of green and white.

"Blimey..." Pintel blinked several times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He looked further out to see and noticed more of them.

"What would happen if we dropped a cannon ball on one of them?" Ragetti wondered out loud. The three looked to each other. It only took a moment for them to break out in heavy snickers at the thought. They rushed towards the deck, but halted almost immediately when they saw Tia Dalma now standing beside the railing. She was shooting them an angry glare.

"Er...we're not going to do it," Steven quickly said to Pintel and Ragetti. "It'd be disrespectful."

Tia looked back out to the sea. "These souls should be in the care of Davy Jones. That was his duty as a sailor. He was charged with it by the sea goddess Calypso. His purpose was to ferry souls to the other side. After ten years, he would be allowed to come ashore to be with the woman who truly loved him." She spoke with an endearing tone at first, but she scoffed whens he was finished. "But he is a man no longer. He's become a monster."

"So he wasn't always..." Ragetti wiggled his fingers beneath his chin. "Tentacle-y?"

"He wasn't," Tia replied. "He was a man once..." Her gaze trailed off to the sea again. By now, some of the crew had heard the commotion and deserted their rest. They looked over and a soft murmur spread through the ship.

"Now there's boats coming," Ragetti pointed out.

Sora peered over the boat. He could see people that did not look dead. They were simply floating by silently in the boats they settled in. There was a large variety. Most of them were English people, still dressed in their everyday attire. Even children were among them. "Oh my gosh..." Sora wanted to step away from the rail, but his shock wouldn't let him. In Beckett's attempt to eradicate pirates, even simple families had died.

Elizabeth noticed one figure in particular. "Father?" She got to the rail and looked out. Governor Swann was in his traditional uniform. "Father! We're back! Over here!"

"Elizabeth?" Sora looked over at his friend. "I don't think we're back..."

Elizabeth took a moment to register what Sora meant. She gasped softly, then called out again. "Father!"

Governor Swann was not deaf to them, fortunately. He turned his head and looked up. "Elizabeth!" he cried out. "My darling...are you dead?" Elizabeth shook her head in denial. "I see...I think I am."

"You can't be!" Elizabeth denied. "You're right here!"

"I must warn you while I can," Swann called back. "There was a chest, you see. The one that gives Beckett his power. Inside, there was that heart. I found out that if one is to stab the heart of Davy Jones, the one who does the deed takes his place. The _Dutchman_ must have a captain."

Will's eyes widened. His window to kill Jones had now been barred shut to him. Now controlling Jones was the only way to accomplish anything.

"It was silly to die for, in my opinion," Swann chuckled. "But I hope that it helps you."

Elizabeth ran to the deck and took up a long roll of rope. She hurled it out to sea and the rope draped perfectly aboard her father's boat. "Take the line, quickly!"

Swann made no attempt to grab the rope at all. He smiled up at his daughter and his eyes began to water with happiness. "I've seen how corrupt our so-called allies really are, Elizabeth," he admitted. "I see the truth that the pirates are fighting against that corruption." He smiled even more widely, allowing a few tears to flow. "I am so proud that I could call you my daughter."

"Father, take the line!" Elizabeth cried desperately. It slid off the boat and into the water with Swann having even tried to take it. His boat was quickly drifting past the _Black Pearl_.

"I'll give our love to your mother," Swann promised.

"No!" Elizabeth ran for the stern. "Father, come back!" Will rushed after her, fearing she would do something rash. His fears were confirmed when Elizabeth used the rigging to climb to the railing.

"Elizabeth!" he called. He took hold of her hand and pulled.

"Father, I won't leave you!" Elizabeth squealed through her tears. She struggled more, but Will soon pulled her back on deck. Instantly, she turned around and buried her sobbing face into his shoulder.

Will held her, as he knew he should. He looked to Tia Dalma. "Can we...?"

With a grave look, Tia shook her head. "Him at peace now."

* * *

When the sun revealed itself again, it was close to going down. But it blazed more than ever upon the unfortunate crew, who grew very warm under its heated glare. Their sweat was heavily visible, even from several feet away. Some were desperately searching the ship for water, some even leaning overboard to try and scoop some from the ocean, only to be disappointed that it was full of salt.

"No water..." Pintel weakly moved a canteen up and down to try and get any amount of liquid from it into his parched mouth. "Why must there only be rum?"

Gibbs weakly tossed an empty bottle to the deck. "Rum's gone too," he grumbled.

Sora held up his Keyblade, trying to cast a Blizzard spell. "Freeze!" he demanded. But his strength was being sapped by the heat and the Keyblade wouldn't even create a passable ice block for him. "Freeze!"

Will watched as everyone around him struggled in futility. Their supplies were running out, especially water. They had no idea what the way out of the Locker was and Ragetti had gotten his eye stolen by Jack the monkey...again. The crew was in fatigue and chaos.

"What are our chances?" he asked Tia.

Tia sighed, leaning over the railing. "If we cannot escape this realm before the sun sets, I fear that we could be doomed to sail these waters in-between worlds forever."

They heard a loud sigh beside them. Steven was sprawled out on the deck, trying to keep cool by burrowing into the shade. "Without water, forever's not going to be a very long time for us."

"Why doesn't Barbossa do something?" Will grumbled. His complaints were just, as Barbossa was merely looking out to sea, not even looking at the charts. However, the cryptic map wasn't entirely abandoned.

It was Jack trying to spin the circles of the charts. The more he spun it, the more confusing it got. For a specific route, one had to have all seven rings in the right place. Jack was having plenty of difficult finding a match that hadn't already been made. He felt some luck yet when he formed a phrase with the second and third rings but his triumph was for naught when he read the phrase. " 'Up is Down'...if you're had a bottle, I suppose." He sighed. "Why are these things never clear?"

"Clear as mud, Jackie."

"Mud isn't-" Jack lifted his head. "Wait...who's there?"

Emerging from his dreadlocks, one of the miniature personas of Jack emerged, hanging onto the beaded charm that hung from one of them. "Stab the heart," he urged.

"_Don't_ stab the heart!" Jack turned to his other shoulder to see second version of him stepping out. "The _Dutchman_ must have a captain."

"That's more unhelpful than 'up is down'," Jack replied. "Why not give me the options and consequences so I can think this out?"

"Very well," said the first imaginary Jack. "You could sail the sea forever."

Jack smiled. "I do love the sea."

"What about port?"

"Port's not bad," Jack admitted. "But I prefer rum."

"Indeed," the first Jack agreed. "Rum is good."

"Not that kind of port. _Making_ port," corrected the second Jack. "Going ashore to get the rum." He dropped his voice. "Once every ten years."

"What did he say?" the first Jack asked.

"Once every ten years," Jack repeated.

The first Jack inhaled nervously. "Ten years is a long time mate."

"Longer if you count the defecit of rum," Jack agreed.

"Eternity is longer still," the first Jack reminded.

"How will you spend it, then?" the second Jack asked. "Dead or not dead?"

"Perhaps as 'The Immortal Captain Sparrow'!" the first Jac offered tantalizingly.

"Ooh, I like that!" Jack smiled widely.

"Yes you do," the second Jack. "But it won't matter what you like by the time sunset comes around."

Very slowly, the pieces began to fall together in Jack's mind. "It isn't sunset..." He placed his fingers on the centerpiece, which showed two ships opposite each other, one upside-down. Turning it, he reversed which ship was right-side up and which was upside-down. "Sundown. And rise...up!" He arose excitedly from the chart and ran for the railing. "Good God, what's that?" He leaned over the side of the railing, which attracted a few glances. "Do you see that?"

Gibbs stepped over to Jack curiously. "What's what?"

"That!" Jack pointed out. "Don't you see it?" Jack darted to the other side. "Ahh! It's moving!"

"What the-?" Steven arose from his shady position and looked over the railing as well. "There's nothing out there...is there?"

"I could've sworn I saw it right there," Jack assured. "It's- OH!" He sprang from the railing. A few more crewmen deserted their posts and began to follow Jack, only to have him run to the other side again. "It's all over the place!"

By now, the majority of the crew was running back and forth upon the ship. It began to tip back and forth in the water from left to right. By now, the crew had caught onto what he was doing.

"He's rocking the ship," Pintel realized.

Sora followed Jack's lead as he darted from the rail when the ship started to tilt back in that direction. "We're rocking the ship!" he declared. Barbossa was the last to desert his post and he immediately zoned in on the charts. He could see the reversed ships and the message 'Up Is Down'.

"Aye..." Barbossa smiled. "Aye! He's onto it!" He rolled up the charts quickly and drew his sword. "Loose the cannons!" he shouted, cutting one free of its harness. "Let the cargo roll about!"

The below-deck crew untied the nets and the cannons and allowed them to roll and tumble along with the ship. The additional weight significantly increased how much the ship tilted each time.

Ragetti quickly nabbed his wooden eye and forced it back into his socket before he joined in the fray, running alongside Pintel. "Shouldn't we make ourselves go upside down so that we're the right way up when the boat flips?"

Pintel thought about it for a moment. "That's genius!" When the boat began to level, he and Ragetti darted for the mast. They gathered up a large bundle up rope. "Come on, Steve!"

Steven raised an eyebrow at his two friends. "Guys, I don't think-" But Steven couldn't afford to waste time with an explanation due to his need to grab hold. Once he had, the boat was at an eighty-degree angle. "Uh...good job!" he falsely encouraged them. "Just secure yourselves fast!"

The crew ran across even more quickly than they had been before to keep up with the pace and angle of the ship. The cannons slammed into the walls above and below the deck of the ship. The cargo clattered after it, putting even more weight and momentum in the direction the ship tilted.

"One more should do it!" Barbossa cackled. "Put all you've got in your miserable bodies into one more!" The _Black Pearl_'s weight shifted again and the crew made one final sprint during the brief moment that it was level. It was the greatest struggle of all to take hold, but everybody managed to grab onto the railing and gripped it tightly. The force behind the tilt gave everybody only their hands to prevent them from falling. Their legs seemed to kick behind them, as if they were swimming. The _Pearl_ was tipping over very slowly, bringing about its inevitable capsize."

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Jack announced. "You are witnessing an opposite force at work here." Their feet danged beneath them, getting closer to the water. "Now up-" The ship descended more quickly as the weight began to take a toll on it. "-is down!"

Everybody took a deep breath of air while the _Black Pearl_ was completing its flip to allow its bottom to stick straight up into the air. The sudden plung took Will by surprise and he released the railing. Elizabeth released it with one hand to reach for her fiance, who drifted away. She nearly panicked, but Will was resourceful very quickly. He took hold of the rigging and held tightly. Everybody was fully secured now.

Waiting expectantly was the only option the crew had left. The sea water was completely surrounding them and they couldn't hold their breath forever. Were one to be watching the sun on the horizon, they would have seen the setting sun. Its peak dipped down, as if swallowed by the water. The moment it had set was the moment a green flash fired up into the sky.

Around the ship, the surroundings began to change as the realm they resided in began to change. Rather than floating upside down at the surface of the ocean in Davy Jone's Locker, they now clung to a ship that was completely upright and lingering at the dense, crushing depths of the sea. It began to rumble and rise at an alarmingly quick rate.

Then everything shifted once again. The _Black Pearl_ broke the surface of the water. An explosion arose from the sea in the spot where it came up. The sea poured out of every orifice on the ship while the crew was tossed from the railing and scattered upon the deck.

Pintel and Ragetti sputtered and coughed up some water, as upside-down and trapped against the mast as when they had first tied themselves to it. "This wasn't a good idea, was it?" Ragetti thought aloud.

Steven rose to his feet and pulled his soaked hair away from his eyes. Still dripping, he walked over to his two friends. "Sorry, guys. I wanted to warn you, but we were short on time." He went to the back of the mast and began to untie the ropes.

Gibbs opened his eyes when he felt the flooding ship was beginning to calm. "Blessed sweet sanctuary!" he rose his feet and opened his eyes wide. "We're back!"

The remaining sailors stood to their feet, looking around them. Night was beginning to fall in the realm of Davy Jone's locker, but it was quite the opposite. In the horizon, the sun was still barely peeking up. However, as one could see, it was coming up, not down. Sunrise.

Barbossa looked upon this sight. For a moment, he allowed himself to reflect on the pride of the venture. Then, just like that, he turned a completely new direction. He whirled around and drew his pistol, pointing it at Jack. Jack quickly pulled one in response and aimed at Barbossa. Will drew two if his own, aiming them at Barbossa and Jack, Elizabeth copying his actions. Jack drew another one and aimed at Elizabeth.

"Oh snap!" Steven summoned his Keyblade and swiftly chopped Pintel and Ragetti free of the mast. They clattered to the deck and quickly stumbled to their feet. Shakily, they both pulled their pistols out and pointed them at Will. Will pointed his second pistol back at them while Barbossa drew yet another and aimed it at Will. Sora, meanwhile, summoned their Keyblades and stood warily in a defensive position.

Barbossa looked directly at Jack. After a few seconds, he began to laugh softly. A moment into it, Jack smiled and laughed as well. Will began to laugh next. Pintel and Ragetti looked to Steven in confusion. Steven shrugged and began laughing as well, upon which Pintel and Ragetti followed suit. Elizabeth was the next to chuckle and everybody slowly began to lower their weapons, succumbing to the laughter.

"Alright then!" Barbossa snapped, bringing everybody's weapons back up. "The pirate lords of the world are gathering. Jack, there is no arguing the point that you and I are a'going."

"Well, I am arguing the point," Jack defied. "My ship is sailing a complete one-eighty away from wherever pirates are meeting."

"Jack, the pirates are gathering," Elizabeth urged, pointing her second pistol at him. "You're a pirate."

Jack turned his pistols onto her, but then Will pointed his second back onto Jack as well. "Fight or no fight, you aren't running from this, Jack." Jack pointed his pistol back at Will once again.

"Think Jack!" Barbossa lifted his pistol towards Jack a little more. "If we don't stand together this once, we'll all be hunted down until there be no pirate left except you."

Jack beamed proudly. "Really...Captain Jack Sparrow: the Last Pirate...I think I like the sound of that."

Sora intervened into the circle, upon which Barbossa and Jack each pointed a pistol at him. Sora lifted his Keyblade so that the tip was barely in front of Jack's nose. "If we're all gone, you have to fight Davy Jones by yourself. Do you like the sound of _that_?"

"Admittably, that'll be difficult," Jack answered. "But I won't be returning to the Locker, Sora. Count on it." Jack shoved his pistol forward, pointing more at Sora.

"Reflect!" Sora bellowed, expecting a shot..

_CLICK_.

Jack was pushed back by the magic shield, but everybody began to blink when they heard the gun click. Nothing had fired from it. Soon, every trigger was being pulled and they all multiplied the clicking effect that Jack's pistol. Many grumbled and tossed the now-useless weapons to the deck.

Gibbs held his own pistol closer to his face and examined it. "Blast!" He pocketed the gun. "Wet powder." Grudgingly, the crew gathered up their guns and returned them to their pockets.

"Wait!" Pintel cried out. "Let's use them as clubs!"

"Let it go," Steven answered. "They're putting them-" The butt of Ragetti's gun then came down upon his head, knocking him to the ground. "OW!"

Ragetti shrank back a few inches. "Sorry mate," he apologized. He nodded to Pintel next. "Effective, though."

Sora turned his head in all directions, confused. On one turn, he spotted something a little unsettling. "There's a ship over there!" he called out.

The crew of the _Pearl_ walked over to the railing and peered over. A ship similar to the one that they had borrowed from Sao Feng was sailing towards them. There was no doubt of that, as there was nothing else out in this open water.

"The _Empress_," Barbossa cried. out. "It is Sao Feng's vessel."

"Aye," Tai Huang confirmed. Without another warning, he drew his sword and pointed it at Barbossa. Before anybody else could even reach for their weapons, Tai Huang's twelve men drew their swords as well and backed the remainder of them into the railing, keeping their swords near their necks.

"Captain Sparrow," Tai Huang hissed. "We are taking the ship."

"Oh...well..." Jack motioned his head towards Barbossa. "For the record, _he's_ the captain."

Barbossa rolled his eyes and the rest of the crew groaned softly.

* * *

The Singaporean sailors cackled in delight as they surrounded their captives. The _Empress_ was docked alongside them and several more Singaporean men had boarded the ship to escort the prisoners to their own ship, leaving the _Pearl_ abanonded. Barbossa stepped forward to immediately confront the captain.

"Sao Feng," he greeted, forcing a polite tone through his teeth. "You showing your face here is truly a coincidence."

Sao Feng smirked at his enemy before turning to face another. "Jack Sparrow," he greeted.

Jack peeked out from a group of people behind which he was hiding. "I believe the proper greeting is 'Hello, old friend'." He smiled hopefully.

Sao Feng stepped closer, so Jack stood upright to face him. "You paid me a great insult once, Captain."

"That doesn't seem like something I would-" Jack was rewarded with a firm punch in the nose. Everybody around him winced at the impact. Jack seethed a little bit, then grabbed his nose and firmly bent it into place again. "Does this mean we're square now?"

Will broke through the crowd and pointed to Elizabeth. "Release her," he demanded. "She isn't a part of the bargain."

"What bargain?" Steven gasped. "I don't remember signing up for this!"

Soa Feng's shrugged and nodded to his crew. "You heard Captain Turner. Release the girl." Tai Huang proceeded to

"_Captain_ Turner?" Barbossa echoed.

"Yes," Will answered. "I needed the _Black Pearl_ to free my father. That's the reason I came on this voyage."

Elizabeth stormed for Will once she heard this. "Why didn't you tell me you were planning this?"

Will averted his eyes, looking to his right. "It wasn't your burden to bear."

"So _that's_ why you came," Jack realized, coming to the center of attention. "So dear young Captain Turner needed the _Pearl_." He leaned in closer to Elizabeth. "You felt guilty, as you rightly should." Then he jerked his thumb lazily at Barbossa. "Then him with his Brethren Court. Answer me this, will you: did anybody come to save me just becaused they missed me?" It took a few seconds, but Gibbs raised his hand with a weak grin. Shrugging, Sora and Steven raised their hands as well. Marty put up his hand, followed by Pintel and Ragetti. The last being to raise their hand was Jack the monkey. Jack pointed at all of them with acknowledgement, then nodded. "There we go. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to stand over there with them."

He had taken a single step before Sao Feng seized his color and yanked him back over. "Sorry, Jack, but there's an old friend who wants to see you."

"I'm overwhelmed as it is," Jack said with a nervous smile. "I'm chalked up and visits from old friends today. I don't think I could take the stress of another."

Sao Feng forced Jack against the railing, forcing him to look out to sea. "Here is your chance to find out." Jack peered reluctantly at a second approaching ship and a deep frown embedded itself into Jack's face. A British naval vessel advanced towards them and it took little thought to figure out who was on board.

"Uh, Sora?" Jack turned to face his friend. "I take back what I said. I honestly love getting my butt pulled out of the fryer by you. Mind doing it right about now?"

"Oh, that reminds me," Sao Feng spoke up. He snapped his fingers to give a command. "Take those two!" In the instant, Steven and Sora were both led by the railing and held them in place.

Sora looked back at Jack. "Wish I could help, but I'm in a bit of pickle myself right now..." He tugged violently against the grip he was held in, turning himself to stand before Sao Feng. "What do you want with us?"

"It isn't what I want, boy," Sao Feng promised. "Lord Beckett is interested in meeting with you. My concern and my care lie outside of what he wants."

"Beckett?" Steven squeaked softly. "Oooh noooo..."

Sora was forced back by the railing. "Steven...you've met him?"

"Uh, yeah..." Steven stammered. "I...may have gotten arrested, on his orders, for insulting their government. Is that bad for us?"

Sora sighed. "Probably."

* * *

Five redcoast escorted Jack, Sora, and Steven aboard the deck of the ship, the _Empire_, and led them to the largest cabin within the ship. As soon they were forced in and the doors closed, they spotted the one who requested their audience rising from his desk.

"Meetings and reunions alike," Beckett said, stepping out in front of the three individuals, beginning with Sora. "I've heard much about you, Sora. I was skeptical when they said that it was a mere boy, but even so, I expected you to be a bit more than this."

"You shouldn't underestimate me," Sora replied. "Most people who make that mistake don't last very long."

"How true that is," Beckett confirmed. "Still, finding you here before me, I assume that you've now learned that it is more dangerous to overestimate oneself than to underestimate a foe." He paced over to Steven next. "And you..."

"What's up?" Steven greeted casually.

Beckett glared. "I see you have yet to learn the same lesson."

"Well, when I can bust out of a jail after being left alone for two seconds and survive two fights with a giant sea monster, it's hard not to develop a little sense of accomplishment." Steven smirked widely, not allowing Beckett to get to him.

"Well, now that pleasantries are out of the way, you may leave," Beckett motioned to Steven and Sora. "I have an associate who wishes to speak with you both." The redcoats opened up the doors once again and took hold of the arms of both Steven and Sora. They were quickly led away from the room, leaving Jack and Beckett alone.

"Jack Sparrow." Beckett paced back to his deck. "I must say, it's a pity that you no longer possess the leverage you need to settle your debt to Davy Jones."

Jack shrugged. "By my standards, my debt has been paid already."

"With your death?" Beckett questioned. "Yet here you are in front of me."

Jack smiled and picked up a cane, standing beside a portrait of Beckett holding the exact same one. "Close your eyes and pretend it's a bad dream. That's how I make it through the day."

"And if Jones were to learn of your survival?" Beckett replied. He took a pitcher of brandy and poured it into two small glasses, one of which he offered Jack. "Unless of course, we could arrange a deal. You give me information and nothing more."

Jack accepted the glass of brandy. Nonchalantly, he took the one Beckett held as well. "In exchange for fair compenstation, I assume?" He drank the first glass. "Square my debt with Jones-" He downed the second. "Guarantee my freedom?"

"Of course," Beckett assured, pouring some more. "That's just good business."

Jack accepted another glass and poured the contents down his throat before setting it down. "Were I to be put in a divulgitory mood, what might I divulge?"

"Everything," Beckett whispered. "Who are the Pirate Lords? Where are they meeting? What are the purposes of the nine Pieces of Eight?"

* * *

Sao Feng had more guests to greet. A few redcoats, five in total, boarded the _Black Pearl_. However, they felt unnecessary to the pirate from Singapore. He took it up with Beckett's associate Mercer.

"My men are crew enough," Sao Feng promised.

"This is a company ship now," Mercer replied. "So there'll be a company crew to go along with it."

"We had a deal!" Will grumbled to Sao Feng. "You said the _Black Pearl_ would be mine."

"It was, Turner," Sao Feng reminded. "For some time." He nodded to his sailors, who seized Will and pulled him back. They put him in shackles for safe-keeping. Then he whirled on Mercer and sounded almost as hostile. "Beckett agreed the _Pearl_ would belong to me!"

"Perhaps he did," Mercer allowed. "But Lord Beckett decided that he can't really give away the only ship able to outrun the _Dutchman_." He pushed forward to get past Sao Feng, who was seething madly to keep himself from exploding in anger at Mercer.

Barbossa stepped up beside him. "A shame that they aren't honored to follow our code, ain't it?"

Sao Feng scoffed. "There is little honor with remaining with the losing side. Leaving for the ones with the advantage is just good business."

"Oh, so now we're 'the losing side'?" Barbossa shot back.

"The East India Company has the _Dutchman_ and now the _Black Pearl_!" Sao Feng reminded fiercely. "They have the two most powerful ships of these waters. What do we have?"

Barbossa smiled widely and leaned in. "We have...Calypso." Upon utterance of that name, an odd tingling began to emerge in the air around them. Sao Feng's eyes were wide, and his eyes wandered, almost immediately falling upon Elizabeth. "Calypso," he said with a sneer. "She is an old legend."

"Nay," Barbossa insisted. "We have the goddess herself, bound to her human form." He placed his hand upon Sao Feng's shoulder. "Imagine: the power of the sea itself set loose against our enemies." He lifted Sao Feng's necklace a bit with his fingers, holding the jade pendant attached to it. "But to release her, the Brethren Court is needed. _All_ of it."

* * *

The brig of the ship is where the two Keybearers were taken. Not to be locked up, however, merely placed for this encounter. It was somewhat dignified, at least as much as a prison could be. It was not excessively rotten as the brig of the _Pearl_ was, but it was in no way justifiable to call comfortable. For this, the two were grateful that they weren't in here as actual prisoners.

"So who do you think we'll be talking to down here?" Steven wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Sora confessed. "I don't know any of these officers."

"Maybe it's the king," Steven offered. "Come to lecture me about the 'greatness of the English power' or some crap like that." Steven actually began to laugh a little bit.

Sora could only resist for a moment and allowed a chuckle to come from him as well. "You prepared to debate it out?"

"Heck yeah!" Steven replied. "I've always wanted to..." He trailed off. "Sora...what is that?" He pointed to a column of green light that formed a few feet away from them.

Sora's eyes went wide. "No..." he growled. "Why'd it have to be her?"

"Her?" Steven raised an eyebrow. He looked to the green light and the green column erupted into green flames with hints of black and yellow in their midst. "AAH!" Steven's eyes flared widely and he stumbled back. His face was lined with pure shock at what he saw. "Oh my God..."

Sora's look of disgust turned to one of curiosity at Steven's action. "Huh?" But as the flames vanished, his focus returned to the transparent form that appeared in their place. It was a horned witch with pale green skin. Her jagged black cloak hung over her body and the fingers on her right hand curved tightly around a brown staff that was helmed by an emerald almost as pale as her own skin. She turned slowly and smiled enticingly at Sora.

"Oh, how adorable," she sneered. "You're not happy to see me."

"Maleficent," Sora said in a low voice. "What do you want?"

"Many things, dear boy," Maleficent reminded. "Conquest of the worlds, Kingdom Hearts, and your demise are my primary goals. However..." She turned her gaze toward Steven. "In this moment, I find myself intrigued by your friend."

Steven was was practically hyperventilating from the shock that he felt. "You..." He gathered up some courage and stepped forward. "You're the one I've been seeing in my dreams!"

Maleficent chuckled in response. "I'm flattered, boy. How am I portrayed, exactly?"

"You destroyed the village I lived in when I was a kid," Steven growled.

"Well, that could be possible," Maleficent admitted. "I firmly believe that sacrifices have to be made for peace to be achieved."

"Like you're really trying to create peace!" Sora clenched his fists. "Killing innocent people won't ever bring peace. Anyone who thinks so is crazy!"

"But Sora, is that not what you are doing?" Maleficent pointed out. "There are more worlds than you can imagine. How many died in worlds you never bothered to travel to? How many were denied a Keybearer when they needed one to save them?" Sora growled in response at the logic in her words. "So you see, not saving people is not far from committing murder."

"That's a load of crap and you know it!" Steven fired back. "Besides, if it weren't for people like you, the worlds wouldn't have this problem. That's why people like you need to die."

"In case you have not already heard, child, Sora has defeated me once before." Maleficent held her arms up, gesturing to herself. "But as you can see, I am still here. That should be proof enough for you that people like myself never go away. The forces of darkness come from the darkness in the hearts of everyone. That is why there are Heartless. Heroes of light, however, are in short supply. It won't take long for you two to blink out."

"You've said that before, Maleficent," Sora reminded. "As you can see, I haven't quite done that yet. That should be proof to you that even though there aren't as many of us, we're more than a match."

Maleficent scoffed. "It still baffles me how a naive child like yourself has managed to save the universe twice."

"Maybe it's because he's better?" Steven offered with a small shrug. "You know, just putting it out there." He grew serious again. "Or maybe it's because our determination to protect innocent people from you is stronger than your evil. A bit cheesy, I know. But it's the truth."

Maleficent's eyes fell on Steven again. "One thing I've learned about heroes is that they are not impervious to a change in their point of view." Her image advanced forward. Steven tried to move away, but his muscles were petrified. "As I am not truly here, my full power is not at my disposal, but don't think for a second that I cannot sense what lies within."

She smirked and touched Steven's forehead with her transparent finger. Even if Steven couldn't feel anything, it still sent a massive chill through him. He flinched back from her. "And what a surprise I find inside of you, boy," Maleficent continued with a smile. "Great darkness lies not only in your heart, but in your entire being." Her chuckling deepened and grew louder. "Yes, you could be of great help to me with the right guidance."

"Good luck getting my cooperation." Steven summoned his Keyblade defiantly. "I already know where my allies are and you can't do anything to change my mind."

"See, Maleficent?" Sora smirked. "You can't twist us to you anymore. Riku broke free of your influence. If you can't convert someone with as much darkness as Steven has, then I'd say that you've finally lost your touch."

"You seem confident of that," Maleficent replied. She turned around and stepped away from the two Keybearers. "Steven...you showed incredible fear at the mere image of me. We'll see how that smart mouth of yours holds when we meet face-to-face." She looked over her shoulder, looking at them once again. "That darkness has already been awakened. Know that only with me can you unlock its full potential!" An explosion of green flame surrounded the image and Maleficent was gone.

* * *

Sao Feng, after several moments of considering Barbossa's words, seemed to reconcile with the pirate. "What are you proposing, captain?"

"What be ye accepting, Cap'n?" Barbossa offered in return.

Sao Feng's eyes were drawn immediately to Elizabeth. "The girl."

Elizabeth blinked several times. "Excuse me?"

Will put a hand in front of her. "Elizabeth is not part of any bargain."

Barbossa shrugged. "Agreed. That is out of the question."

Sao Feng's eyes narrowed at Barbossa. "It was not a question."

Elizabeth took a deep breath. Thinking carefully, she acted. "Done."

"What?" Will gasped. "Not done!"

"You got us into this mess!" Elizabeth snapped back. "If this is what frees us, then it's done."

"They're pirates!" Will cried.

Elizabeth shoved Will's chest, pushing him away. "I've had more than enough experience dealing with pirates!"

"Then we have an accord?" Barbossa held his hand out. With a soft cackle, Sao Feng shook it.

* * *

Jack cooled himself off by waving a turquoise fan at his face. "Tell you what: you can keep Barbossa, the belligerent homonculous and his wooden-eyed friend. I will gladly let you have Turner. Sora's a bit much, but I'll let you have his friend." He closed up the fan. "The rest will come aboard the _Pearl_ with me to Shipwreck Cove. Once there, I will hand you the pirates and you won't hand me over to Jones. Bloody fair deal, I think."

"Perhaps," Beckett allowed. "But as I recall, you have a neat little compass that could point me to whatever I want."

"Which isn't the Bretheren Court," Jack said.

"Oh?" Beckett raised an eyebrow. "Then what is it, Jack?"

Jack unclipped the compass from his waist and tossed it to Beckett. "What you want most is me...dead."

Beckett opened up the compass and waited a few moments. His expression when he saw the compass' arrow stop told the story. "Damn..." He closed the compass and tossed it to Jack while Jack closed up the fan and tossed it to him. "It appears you are right. So in theory..." Beckett lifted a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at Jack. "If I kill you, I could cut out the middle man and find Shipwreck Cove on my own."

"Very much possible," Jack replied. "But listen up because this part is very important: Shipwreck Cove is a very well-supplied fortress that is able to withstand blockade for years, nigh inpenetrable. Then you'll curse yourself that you killed a man on the inside who could have ensured the pirates would come out."

"You would be able to accomplish that?" Beckett asked.

"You can kill me, but you cannot insult me," Jack replied. "Want to know why?" Beckett's mouth hung agape, unable to provide an answer. "Plain and simple: I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

The glass window of the cabin shattered under the force of a blasted cannonball. The pirates aboard the _Black Pearl_ had begun to riot. Jack stumbled back and Beckett fell against the table. Quickly, Jack shook the hand of Beckett. "Deal!" he declared before he scuffled for the doors. He opened them up, then slammed them into the bodies of two redcoats who attempted to charge. He stepped over them and made to exit the cabin onto the deck while more cannonballs plowed through the ship as he passed.

Steven and Sora had not been ignorant to the commotion. They were not locked in the brig, so they rushed up as soon as they heard the action going on. When the deck was in sight, Sora tossed his Keyblade with a spin. It barreled through four soldiers that were in their way before it turned back and headed for Sora again. "Alright!" A fifth soldier was taken down on the return.

Steven followed up with another attack. "Thunder!" he declared. The electricy rained down upon the deck. Two redcoats were shocked directly into submission. Four others stumbled back and fell over when the tiny puddles of water that covered the deck conducted the spell's power.

Aboard the _Pearl_, Barbossa fought against Mercer in a duel of swords. Barbossa quickly made a cheap, but effective move and kicked Mercer right in between his legs. Mercer yelled in pain, but he held up his sword to block Barbossa's strike. Pushing the pirate captain away, he took advantage of an opportunity and climbed up to the railing of the ship and dove into the water, swimming away.

Jack, in the meantime, was busy. He held a rope that was connected to the sail. He tied it to the back of a cannon and held a wooden pole that maintained a spark in his hand. Beckett emerged from his cabin into the chaos in time to see this happening. He looked back and forth between Jack and the elaborate setup he had created.

"You're mad!" he declared.

Jack shrugged indifferently. "If I wasn't, this would probably never work." He lit the cannon's fuse and was pulled through the air. Beckett ducked aside before Jack had gotten the chance to fire and avoided the blast. The cannonball blasted into a set of stairs and exploded, blasting two soldiers into the ocean and knocking another to the deck, unconscious.

The crew of the _Pearl_ rushed upstairs to the stern portion of the ship to grab the rope that their captain had been holding onto. Before they could reach it, it slid over the edge of the ship before anybody could grab it. Barbossa turned away to think of a plan, but did a double-take on his turn. Jack now stood above them, leaning casually against a large lantern while the carved patterns of the stern wall allowed him a foothold.

"And I did that without a single drop of rum!" he boasted. He hopped down to the deck and stepped forward, facing Will. Instinctively, Pintel and Ragetti seized Will's arms. "Send this traitorous, cowhearted, yeasty codpiece to the brig." The two diligently went about accomplishing that task. "The rest of you man your stations!" Jack called out.

Beckett arose from the small amount of wreckage that surrounded him and the larger amount of injured soldiers that littered the deck. Two ships that were his only a moment ago now sailed away, the_Empress_ in one direction and the _Black Pearl_ in another.

His lieutenant climbed the stairs to meet him. "Which ship do we follow?"

"Signal the _Dutchman_ to track down Sao Feng," Beckett ordered. "We will follow the _Pearl_. How soon can we be ready to sail?"

"How about when you can find a new vessel?" Beckett whirled around to face a Keyblade pointed in his face, belonging to Steven. Sora stood at his shoulder, resting his Keyblade across his shoulder.

"We're taking over the ship," Sora said. "I hope you don't mind."

Beckett closed his eyes in frustration and sighed with a heavy growl in his voice.


	22. Shifting Powers

The _Empress_ was keeping its course as it sailed, en route to Shipwreck Cove. Within the ship, in a large hall, Elizabeth was placed, adorned as the new resident of the ship. She had been clothed in Singaporean robes that had many hues of rich turquoise. Sao Feng soon entered, wearing dark-colored silk robes, smooth in opposition to his bumpy battle armor. He spoke briefly in Chinese to two servant girls, then softly clapped his hands. He lifted a tea leaf and dipped it into water.

"By this time tomorrow," he began, stirring the leaf in the water, "We will arrive in Shipwreck Cove. Once there, I promise that you shall be freed." He let go of the leaf and dipped his fingers into the water as well. "Calypso."

Elizabeth's face was ridden with confusion. "Excuse me?"

"I imagine you don't fancy that name, out of the many you have." Sao Feng lightly dabbed his wet hands with a drying cloth. "But it's what we call you."

"And who is 'we'?" Elizabeth demanded to know.

Sao Feng's mouth curved upward in a sly smile. "So you confirm it." With a grin, he placed the leaf he had dipped into water into his mouth and began to chew on it.

"Confirm what?" Elizabeth replied, skeptic. "You haven't told me anything."

"The Brethren Court," Sao Feng urged. "It was not us, but the First Court, whose decision that I would've have opposed, and that's a fact!" He exhaled, calming himself. "They bound you in human form so that the sea could be tamed. It would belong to men and not-"

"-to me," Elizabeth finished. She and Sao made eye contact as she smiled a little bit, playing along with his assumptions.

Sao's smile widened. "But one like yourself should not be anything less than what you are."

"That's a pretty speech," Elizabeth complimented. Her smiled turned upside down as she shot Sao Feng a gentle glare. "But words lose their charms when whispered from the mouth of a captor."

The captain lifted his head a bit. "Can I be blamed for trying?" He stepped in front of Elizabeth and looked straight at her. "Men are drawn to the sea, perilous as it is."

"And many of those men offer their desire as justifcation for the crimes they commit," Elizabeth replied.

"I offer simply my desire." Sao Feng stood straight up for her. "In return, I would have your gifts, should you choose to give them to me."

Elizabeth nodded gently in understanding, then stepped closer. "And if I should choose...not?"

"Then I will take..." Sao Feng ended with an exhaling growl. "Your fury!" He rushed at Elizabeth and pulled her to him. He pressed his lips against hers in a fierce kiss. Elizabeth's faced furrowed up in disgust as she pushed against him. He did not let up for three whole seconds, only then wrenching himself away from her, holding the left side of his face. His head turned upward to see Elizabeth, pressing herself against one of the supports, staring at him with an apalled expression.

He made a step towards her, but the next second saw him being slammed to the other end of the room. Elizabeth turned her head away when she heard the booming noise made. Looking back after a moment, she felt the ship rumbling. There was a hole in the side of the ship so big, only a cannonball could've made it. "Sao Feng?" she called out, looking to the left.

"Here...please..." She looked at the other wall of the ship to find that Sao Feng was bleeding. A log of pointy wreckage from the ship was sticking out from the middle of his torso, spiked through him by the force that he had been flung. As Elizabeth knelt beside him, he reached for his necklace. He ripped it from his neck and held it out. It was a jade shell hanging from a black string. It shook with his hand as he held it out. "With all nine Pieces of Eight...you will be free." He shoved it forward. "Take it!" Gently, Elizabeth took hold of it. "You are captain now."

Elizabeth gasped. "Me?"

Sao Feng pulled her a little closer, whispering. "Go in my place to Shipwreck Cove."

The body of one of the ship's crew was flung down the stairs into the room and Tai Huang was holding his arm as he ran for Sao Feng. "Captain! The ship is taken! We can no longer-" He paused, seeing his captain pull Elizabeth closer.

Sao Feng's eyes widened as he prepared for his end. "Forgive me...Calypso." Those were his last words. Elizabeth gently guided his body to a position where it laid against the wall and remained motionless.

"What is it? What did he tell you?" Tai Huang demanded to know. "Speak!"

Elizabeth stood up, clenching the pendant in her hand. She spread her fingers to reveal it to Tai Huang. "He made me captain."

With a heavy scowl, Tai Huang ran back to the deck. Elizabeth followed in haste. As they exited the cabin, they were instantly seized and swords were forced by their necks. "You are _not_ my captain!"

Elizabeth could see the deck. Many of the attackers were British soldiers, including the one that was holding her in place. The majority were the fish-like men of Davy Jones' crew. The ship that ran alongside the _Empress_ was, in fact, the _Flying Dutchman_. The rest of the crew, at least the men still alive, were now under the careful guard of Jones' men. Among all the navy-coated soldiers and the disgusting monsters that surrounded her, Elizabeth spotted a uniform of bright blue, who had spotted her as she had arrived on deck.

"Elizabeth?"

"James?" The recognition caused the soldier holding her to loosen his grip. She pushed his arm out of her way and she rushed to him. "James!" She rushed up and hugged him, happy if only to see the familiar face of James Norrington.

Norrington returned her embrace with just as tight of a hug. "Oh, thank God you're alright!" he gasped. He released her and smiled gently. "Your father will be so happy to know that you're alive."

Elizabeth frowned, stepping back from Norrington. "My father is dead."

"What?" Norrington shook his head. "That can't be true. He returned to England. I watched him leave!"

Elizabeth's expression grew even harsher than before. "Did Beckett tell that my father was headed to England?"

Their conversation was interrupted when the thumping of a peg leg alerted the deck to another captain's presence. For the second time, Elizabeth laid eyes upon the tentacled menace known as Davy Jones. Up close, he looked even angrier. He marched towards the crew and leaned towards them. "Which one among you do you name as captain?" he spat.

"Captain?" Tai Huang quickly pointed to Elizabeth. "Her! She's the captain!" The rest of the sailors were quick to copy his example and lifted their fingers to single out Elizabeth as the captain.

Jones took a couple of steps towards her. "Captain? A woman?"

"Tow the ship," Norrington ordered briskly. "Bring them aboard. The prisoners will go to the brig." He looked back to Elizabeth. "I will volunteer my quarters to the captain."

Elizabeth looked up at Norrington. "Thank you, Admiral, but I'd prefer to remain with my crew." She tried to pull away, but Norrington followed.

"Elizabeth, please." Norrington stepped into her path. "I swear, I had no idea."

"No idea which side you chose?" Elizabeth challenged. She stood at the head of the Singaporean crew that now belonged to her. "Well, you do now."

* * *

The _Empress_ was tied to the _Dutchman_ by a thick rope, and the ship was dragged behind them. Elizabeth and her crew were led to the brig immediately. She didn't have time to focus on what was happening right now, nor the fact that she had been taken to the brig within five minutes of becoming a Pirate Lord. The more urgent issue was finding someone who could help her and she was having a hard time finding the man with the name she needed.

"Bootstrap?" she caleld to a pufferfish sailor. "Bill Turner?"

The sailor took a disgusted look at her, then threw back his head and laughed loudly, storming off as he did so. Elizabeth frowned. She had attempted this with several other sailors while aboard the ship, but not a single one laid claim to the name she was calling out. Just as she had just about walked away from the bars, one finally spoke without scorn against her.

"Bootstrap?" The voice was a low growl that guided Elizabeth to the opposite end of the cell. Within the wall, she could make out several forms of sea life. Coral, anemones, and plankton grew rampant on a particular area. Surrounded by these forms of life, a man with a starfish attached to the left side of his face was shown. "You know my name?"

"Yes," she confirmed, walking closer. "And I know your son. Will Turner."

Bootstrap's mouth dropped open. "William?" He exhaled, then laughed hard. In his happiness, he peeled himself away from the wall. "Haha! He made it! He's alive!" He looked up to Elizabeth. "And now he sends you to tell me he's coming to get me, right? Oh, Godspeed to him!"

Elizabeth nodded. "Will is alive. And he does want to help you."

Bootstrap looked to Elizabeth again. After a moment, his expression drooped and he shook his head. "He can't help me. He's not coming."

"Of course he is!" Elizabeth assured. "You're his father!" She received a response in the form of Bootstrap's finger pointing in her face.

"I know you...he spoke of you," Bootstrap realized. "He isn't going to save me. He can't do it for your sake."

"Me?" Elizabeth answered.

"You're Elizabeth," Bootstrap whispered.

She had no reason to hide this fact. "Yes, I am Elizabeth, but-"

"Then he won't come. To save me, Jones must be slain," Bootstrap promised. "And if Jones be slain, he who slays him must take his place as captain of the _Dutchman_ forever." Bootstrap stood up to his full height, only about a head taller than Elizabeth. "So if he saves me, then he'll lose you."

That truth replanted itself inside Elizabeth's mind. If Will did save his father, she and him would be separate for years. The man she loved would be sailing the seas for all eternity while she would wither away and be left behind. "I see..." Tears formed in her eyes at the thought of losing her love.

"Wipe your tears," Bootstrap said, trying to calm her. "He has too much to live for." He stepped back to the wall, leaning against it. "He won't pick me. _I_ wouldn't even pick me." He took a deep inhale and the wall seemed to come to life once again. It extricated its hold over the sea life that covered his body. "Tell him that it's too late to save me. Tell him to stay away. I'm already part of the ship."

After a second, Elizabeth realized that he had gone still. "Bootstrap!"

His eyes were opened up again. "You know my name?" The enthusiasm of his first awakening had returned, as if his memory of the previous conversation had vanished. "You know my name?" he asked again happily.

A bit confused, Elizabeth nodded. "Yes...I know your son."

"William!" Bootstrap chuckled a bit. "He's coming for me! Wait and see!" The sea life pulled him into the wall again, fastening him there. "You'll see...he promised..." Bootstrap became still, becoming as he had just described himself: part of the ship.

* * *

_SPLASH_.

Will had lost count of the barrels he had dumped into the ocean. They were empty so that they would be able to float. Tied to each one was the body of a dead British soldier that had been left aboard the ship. He rigged them tightly to a barrel, then cut the rope to send the barrel into the water. He held up the knife his father had given him, staring at it with a conflicted mind. A choice lay before him, a choice that now presented complications he had not counted on, which made the decision immensely difficult to make.

"Hey, Willy!"

Will pointed his knife up at the bowsprit, where Jack casually sat. The captain was unmoved and got to his feet. "You escaped from the brig quicker than I thought, even when I was accounting for the fact that you're a very crafty individual. You've impressed me by twice the usual amount tonight. Well done!" Will didn't lower his knife, still tense. "William, tell me, do you notice anything?" Jack held onto a rope as he stepped along the bowsprit. "Or rather something that is not there to be noticed?"

Will looked out of the corner of his eyes at the bow area where he was currently working. "You haven't raised an alarm," he observed.

"Funny, isn't it?" Jack replied. He looked out to the water, watching the barrel that Will had just pushed overboard floating away. "Come up with this by your lonesome, did you?"

"I said to myself: Think like Jack." Will smirked at Jack, but Jack looked unamused.

"That mindset brought you to this?" Jack gestured to the sea. "Leave a trail for Beckett to follow, lead him right to Shipwreck Cove, and accomplish your ends?" Jack shook his head distastefully. "I'm starting to think you don't know me at all, mate. You and your dearly beloved are showing pretty wicked sides, eh? I bet she's along with this plan." Will didn't respond, instead turning away. Jack raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see...you haven't seen it fit to trust her with the plan."

"Jack-" Will started angrily. His hand shook a little bit, but he calmed down, lowering his knife. "I'm losing her, Jack. Elizabeth is slipping from me. I only slip farther everytime I get closer to freeing my father."

"That's the great dilemma, mate." Jack hopped down from the bowsprit and onto the deck. "If you lock your heart away, you'll lose her for certain. If not, your father has to serve Captain Octopus forever." Jack tapped Will on the shoulder, gathering his attention. "I may have the machete to your intellectual thicket, William: If you let someone else dispatch Jones, you can have both of your desires."

"Kill Jones and serve as captain of the _Dutchman_ forever?" Will scoffed. "Who'd be crazy enough for that?" The sound of a sword being drawn caught Will's ear and he looked over to see Jack, holding the sword at an angle to the sky, grinning. "You?"

Jack placed his weapon back at his belt. "Death had a funny way of changing my priorities. Hear me out, mate. I can slip aboard the _Dutchman_, stab the heart, no sweat. You can be with your father and your charming murderess."

"You'd be willing to cut out your heart bind yourself to the _Dutchman_ forever?" Will asked.

"No, mate." Jack smiled. "I'm free forever. Free to sail off the edges of the map and from death itself."

"But you have to ferry souls to the next world," Will reminded. "That's the duty of the_ Dutchman_'s captain. If you don't do the job, you'll end up just like Jones."

Jack grimaced at the thought. "Don't think I have the face for tentacles, but immortal needs to count for something, doesn't it?" Jack's face furrowed up in thought, then went back to normal when his eyes lit up with a plan. He reached down to his waist and unclipped the compass from his belt, placing it in Will's hand.

Will blinked. "What's this for?"

"It'll come to you," Jack assured. "Just think like me." Without another hesitation, Jack leaned forward, breathing in Will's face. Will, in his rush to get away from the repulsive smell, rushed back too quickly and hit the railing of the ship. He toppled over it and into the water. After a moment, Jack pushed the next body-rigged barrel over the side of the ship and lifted his hat to Will, who was now struggling to stay afloat. "Give my regards to Davy Jones!"

Will, gaining his bearings, paddled over to the barrel and hoisted himself over it. As he gained a firm spot upon it, he glared up at the _Pearl_ as it sailed away from him. "I hate him," he grumbled.

* * *

The organ of the captain's cabin was silent tonight, but the captain was focused little on rest. Not even his music box played. He felt too angered to sleep, for he feared that whatever comfort he might be granted in slumber would multiply in anger when he awakened again. He, former master of the seas, no longer held control of his own destiny because he no longer held control of his heart.

He tipped the bench before his organ loudly, startling some noise in the shadows of his cabin. "I know you be there, creatures!" he whispered vilely to the shadows. "Come on out, why don't you?"

Slowly, in response, the black creatures he had learned to be Heartless, stepped from their hiding places and circled him, remaining stationary in the spots where they stopped before them. "That's it, come closer. I know what you want, but you can't have it. Just like I refuse to have it."

The Heartless seemed to sniff the air around him, indeed realizing that he had no heart in his body. The instant that became a realization, the Heartless shrank back from him. Davy Jones spot down at them, causing them to shrink farther away. "Look at the lot of you. You are pathetic monsters that strive for hearts, and for what? Hearts are a hinderance."

The Heartless seemed to stop, listening to his words intently. Jones picked up his heart-shaped locket in his tentacle, staring intently at the trinket he kept with him, despite the painful reminder it came with. "Only by cutting yourself free of petty emotions can you be truly free. Dependance will serve nothing but an obstacle." He sneered. "But what do you care?" He whirled around to face them. "You mindless creatures don't even know what I'm saying!"

The chattering of the Heartless was heard by Jones for a few moments, and then it silenced with a thump. Turning around, he could see the Heartless all standing erect before him. He blinked his eyes, staring down upon the creatures. It seemed that they had taken some reaction to his words. He narrowed his eyes. "Back into your shadows, beasts," he whispered maliciously. Without consideration, the Heartless had retreated to the shadows, only their yellow eyes glaring out at Jones now.

Jones turned away from them as thoughts began to swirl within his mind. Without a heart, he essentially was very similar to any and all of these creatures. He, himself, was another kind of Heartless altogether. But not like these creatures of darkness who fed on darkness, but one who had rid himself of his own heart, creating a force of true apathy and malice. With such an essence...he could have power to command other Heartless.

"Captain!" Jones was alerted by the deep growl of the coral-fish sailor that was standing in his doorway. "The prisoners aren't in their cells. The admiral is not at his post."

* * *

Elizabeth eased herself across the starboard side of the _Dutchman_, following her crew along. Some of them were already scrambling across the ropes that tethered the _Empress_ to Jones' vessel to make their escape. Elizabeth stepped off and onto the deck area in the back of the ship, preparing to climb up. First, however, she approached the man who had freed them from the cell. "James, what are you doing?"

Norrington turned around to face her and stood firmly. "I'm choosing a side," he said. He leaned in towards Elizabeth. "Beckett is on his way to Shipwreck Cove. There must be a traitor among the Brethren who let it slip. Do not go there."

Elizabeth harshly shook her head. "You can't earn my forgiveness. It's too late."

Norrington rounded on her. "I had nothing to do with your father's death!" he fiercely claimed. After a moment, he sighed. "But I wouldn't expect it to absolve me of other sins I have committed."

Elizabeth took one look at the ship now belonging to her. "Come with us." Norrington's attention was averted from keeping watch to stare directly at her. She made eye contact with him. "James, come with me."

"Who goes there?" Elizabeth stumbled back to the railing and looked upward. Bootstrap was looking down upon her and Norrington and he proceeded to come away from above deck, making his way down towards them by way of the stairs.

"Go!" Norrington urged. "I will follow shortly!"

Elizabeth stayed her gaze on his face, watching his lip tremble. "You're lying, aren't you?" she accused.

The sword in Norrington's hand lowered and the admiral faced his former fiance for what he knew would probably be the last time. "Our destinies were intwined, Elizabeth. But they can never be joined." Norrington leaned down and planted his lips upon Elizabeth's in a kiss. Unlike Sao Feng, Elizabeth calmly allowed Norrington this final farewell. When he broke away, he lifted his sword. "Go now. Get away from here." Elizabeth heeded his words and climbed up to the railing. As soon as she had took hold of the rope and was tugging her way down it, Norrington lifted his sword to disuade the approaching Bootstrap. "Back to your station, sailor," he demanded.

Bootstrap took a look at the ropes. "They're leaving the ship," he stated. "No one leaves the ship."

"Stand down!" Norrington spoke, more sternly than before. "That's an order!"

"That's an order..." Bootstrap chuckled. "Part of the crew, part of the ship. This isn't your crew, Admiral. The _Dutchman_ is Jones' ship."

"I order you to cease this!" Norrington bellowed.

"Part of the crew, part of the ship!" Bootstrap snarled back. He raised his voice. "All hands! Prisoner escape!"

"Belay that!" Norringto cried, pulling out his pistol. His eyes traveled between the ship and the prisoners. If the crew arrived, the escapees would be in worse shape. With a sad, regretful expression, Norrington pulled his pistol and fired upward at the ropes. They disconnected from the _Dutchman_ and the remaining prisoners were sent into the water. At the very least, they'd be able to swim back to the ship and turn sail to get away. Norrington turned to deal with Bootstrap-

"Gaah!" Norrington's breath left his body. Bootstrap held in his hand a long piece of scrap wood. The other end, sharp and pointed, stuck about six inches out of Norrington's back. Bootstrap let go of the wood and stepped back.

Elizabeth was submerged in water as soon as the ropes hit it. When she was brought back up to the surface, she could see Norrington a moment before the makeshift weapon was stabbed into him. "James!" she shrieked. "No!" Her gaze was fixed upon the falling man slumping to the deck. Elizabeth quickly tore herself away, as she'd freeze up from shock if she allowed herself to linger at his final moments. His sacrifice would be in vain if she didn't start swimming towards her ship now.

On deck, the rest of the crew had gathered around the dying Admiral Norrington. Murmers of "Admiral's dead..." were spread quickly. The crew took a long moment to contemplate what this meant for them. Gasping for air before them was the representation of control that the East India Trading Company had over their heads.

"We've got our ship back!" the hammer-head declared. The crew was in a delighted uproar when this news was realized. In higher spirits, they returned to their stations. Davy Jones stepped past them and knelt over Norrington. He looked back to Bootstrap. Formerly a traitor, Bootstrap had been put back in line and was obeying his captain. With a stern nod, Jones dismissed him before looking into Norrington's eyes.

"James Norrington," he whispered. "Do you fear death?"

Norrington's body twitched a little more. With his right hand, he thrust his sword at Jones. Jones didn't even flinch as it pierced his body and went straight through his back. A meaningless act was performed on him, one that left nothing but a trivial stab wound. Norrington's body then failed him and he was still.

"I take that as a 'no'." Jones rose to his feet and tugged the weapon from his chest to examine it. "Very nice sword," he stated before returning to his cabin.

* * *

Bobbing up and down in the water, Will struggled to stay afloat. His barrel was only a few feet away from him, but he had slipped off multiple times. Further fatigue was added to his body with every recovery he made. His goals overpowered his mind and he was able to cling to the barrel again, but he had no idea how much longer he could keep it up.

He slumped over the barrel, laying across it with a lack of energy to do much else besides float. His drifting was slow and constant for another minute. But soon, he began to hear a disturbance in the water. He felt the barrel ascend higher before leveling out. Water was being pushed towards him from a larger source. He followed the direction from which he felt the force of water and behind his barrel, the nose of a vessel, a British one, came into view. Almost immediately, a rope was tossed over the side. Will waited to float by it, then took hold. He used his feet to climb a little bit, but he could also feel the rope being pulled by whoever was on the other end. Whoever it was, he hoped it would lead him to Beckett before long.

He got to the railing and hopped over. He bowed down to catch his breath, not even bothering to take a look at his savior's face. Even when he lifted his head just a little, he couldn't see anybody aboard the ship. No redcoats rushed to aim their guns at them and nobody was barking orders at anyone. It was almost like it was a ghost ship

"Welcome aboard!" Hearing the voice immediately alerted Will and his eyes spread open when the one who had pulled him on deck had spoken.

"Sora!" he declared. He rushed forward and took hold of his friend's shoulders, shaking them a little bit. "Glad to see _you_, my friend."

Sora smiled and patted Will's shoulder in return. "Care to join my crew? Two people makes for tough sailing."

"I second that!" Will stood on his toes to get a glance at the ship's wheel. Sure enough, Steven was at the helm of it. When they made eye contact, Steven waved. "Hey, Will!"

Will waved back briefly before speaking to Sora again. "How did you capture the ship?" he inquired. "Beckett had so many soldiers on board, not even including the Heartless."

"Well, I'll be honest." Sora spoke as he made his way towards the ship's bow. "The redcoats are more scared of the Keyblade's powers than I thought. So taking the ship wasn't all that hard."

"The soldiers are more brainless than the Heartless, it seems," Will said with a chuckle. "So what are you doing now?"

Sora shrugged with a heavy sigh. "That's the thing: we're trying to find our way. By the time we'd scared away the British and figured out how to handle a ship with only two people, we'd lost the trail of the _Pearl_. We have no idea where to go now."

Will's hopes dropped, but only for an instant. He suddenly remembered the tool that he had been granted. "We don't know," he said. "But we can find out." He sprinted from the bow and across the deck, Sora in close pursuit. Will climbed the stairs quickly and came to a quick halt beside Steven.

Steven looked ahead of the ship for clearance before he took his hand off the wheel and stepped back. "What is it?" Will answered him by reaching into his pockett and tossing up an instrument tied to a piece of string. It landed in Will's hand and was opened up immediately.

"Jack's compass?" Sora's shook his head in disbelief. "That's too good to be true."

"I disagree," Steven rebuked. "If it's in our favor, nothing is too good." He took a look at it, watching the arrow spin. "And we are headed..." The arrow stopped. "That way!" he pointed in a southeastern direction. "Okay, Sora. Your turn to steer."

"Alright." Will stepped aside to allow Sora through. "Next stop: Shipwreck-"

_BOOM_.

He was interrupted by the ship rocking a little bit. The sound of cannon fire pierced the air and they could instantly see damage upon the deck of the ship. "We're headed for shipwreck, alright!" Steven yelled before stumbling forward and ramming into the rail. "Ow!" After the ship stabilized, he hoisted himself onto the rail and dropped down to the deck. He sprinted across the deck for closure and found it just beyond the mast. A dark portal had sprouted and a blue Heartless, in the shape of a cannon double the size of a standard cannon, was firing projectiles up into the air above the ship. "We got problems!" he called back to Will and Sora.

Sora and Will rushed down the portside stairs and looked over. "Heartless!" they spoke at the same time. Sora held out his hand to bring his Keyblade to him, but the ship was rocked by another source that compromised the Heartless, toppling it to its feet. On the starboard side, a ship easily recalled by Steven and Will was traveling alongside them, about twenty yards away. The mossy vessel fired their cannons at the ship as well.

"The _Dutchman_ is here too?" Steven called up to the sky. "One bad twist of fate at a time isn't good enough? Come _on_!" He summoned his Keyblade and swung the weapon like a golf club. The creature was whacked into the air. Steven jumped up after it and spiked a strike that aimed the Heartless into the water, where it would helplessly flail until it drowned from the water filling up its cannon.

Sora ran to the railing and summoned his Keyblade, pointing it at the _Dutchman_. "We don't have time to load the cannons," he conveyed to his two allies. "We'd better improvise."

While Sora and Steven began using Fire spells to blast the attacking _Dutchman_, their focus was diverted from other parts of the ship. Will was not handicapped by this distraction, instead running towards the barracks so that he could get down to the cannons and fire as many off as he could. As each foot tapped against the stairs in his rush, he heard the materialization of something behind him. Coming back upstairs and peeking out, he saw a mass of darkness, bigger than what the Heartless came out of. He ducked below so he wouldn't be seen, instead listening. He heard footsteps above him.

"Not quite according to the initial plan." Will recognized this voice as Mercer.

"It doesn't matter the plan or how it plays out," spoke the next voice, belonging to Beckett. "The means to accomplish an end are inconsequential so long as the goal is achieved." Will could hear them walking away, so he cupped his ear to hear better. "Is it still here?"

"It was left aboard the ship when those Keybearers sent the crew off in a longboat," Mercer replied. "Our worst case scenario is that they know it's on board."

"We'll come to the worst case scenario if it arises," Beckett replied.

Will blinked for a moment, silent in his thoughts. _What could be on board here?_ he wondered. Clearly, it had to be something important. Surely, Steven and Sora could've guessed that they'd keep something of such significance near them at all times. Then again, such a thing could be said to justify Beckett keeping the item away from him.

Through all this thought, it took merely another moment for Will to consider the one item that would be of enough importance to bring Beckett to retrieve it. _The chest!_ Will realized silently. Beckett and Mercer had already taken their stroll towards the captain's cabin, so Will bolted up the stairs and onto the deck. Sora and Steven were taking cover beneath the railing of the ship. "The heart!" Will called to them. "Jones is attacking because the heart is on board!"

"What?" Steven bolted to realization. "I knew we should've searched the ship!" He made himself stand again and fired another shot at the _Dutchman_ before he sprinted away and towards the cabin.

"That won't work!" Will warned, bringing Steven to a halt. "Beckett and Mercer are here."

"But we put Beckett in a longboat!" Sora cast a Magnet spell to divert the cannon balls being fired at them. "And we didn't even see Mercer after the battle!"

"They used the Heartless," Will explained. "They came through a passage of darkness and are on their way to the cabin now.

Steven shook his head. "If we can stop them, it's worth a try!" He resumed his run and quickly navigated to the captain's cabin. He pushed on the door, only to find it locked. "Oh, come on!" He shook it more, as if the force would suddenly make a difference, but then he stopped. "Wait a second..." He lifted his Keyblade. "Hello! McFly! You in there?" He knocked on his head with his hand to reprimand himself for his moment of ignorance, then pointed his Keyblade at the door. The blue beam of light quickly transferred from the blade to the lock and the door swung open. Steven ran in, looking around quickly. Behind the desk, he could see the remnants of a dark portal vanishing. "Ugh!" He turned course and traversed through the hallways and back to the deck. "They got it!" he cried. "They had just left when I arrived!"

Sora cast another Magnet spell before he moved away from the railing. "But we don't have any leverage if we don't have that!"

Will intervened. "They don't know where Shipwreck Cove is, do they?"

"I don't think so." Sora shook his head. "But neither do we."

Will smiled and lifted Jack's compass. "It won't take much to find out."

"Will, you're a genius!" Steven declared, quietly so that he was not accidentally heard. "So what do we do now?"

"As Jack would say..." Will smiled. "Parley."

* * *

Jones sat in his cabin once again. He did not relish in the small victory that had been achieved through Admiral Norrington's death. That did not bring cause for celebration. He was still not in possession of his heart and therefore could not exercise the complete control that he would need to take back the _Dutchman_.

This control was further thrust from his grasp when he heard the materialization sound of Heartless appearing behind him. However, the scuttling sounds of the dark creatures weren't the only sounds he heard from behind him. The sound that only a pair of boots would be able to make created two sets of thumping noises behind him. Jones spun his head to face the newcomers and scowled. "What do you want?" he spat.

Beckett stepped forward. "I want you to know that the circumstances were nearly wrestled from my control. Such an embarrassment won't be tolerated twice. As such, I've decided that abiding by your requests is no longer a luxury that can be allowed." He gestured to Mercer, who held the chest in his hands. "The heart will stay here and the command of the _Flying Dutchman_ will be given to Mercer." For emphasis on his point, Mercer dangled the key between his fingers.

Jones arose, looking down upon the Heartless. As far as the two men were concerned, Jones was contemplating the fact that he was at the end of his rope. They had no idea whatsoever of Jones' discovery that as a being with no heart, he could now exercise his own whims through these creatures. Now wasn't such a time to reveal that, however. The appropriate gesture was a stern glare from Jones to his two enemies. "For now."

Satisfied, Beckett turned away. "When you have time, tell your crew to bring some seats. I believe there is negotiation to be had about the location of Shipwreck Cove."

* * *

Such actions were taken for Jones' cabin. A small table was placed in the room, carrying a tray. Upon it was a pot of boiled tea. Four cups were handed out to Will, Steven, Sora, and Beckett. Jones declined partaking of the tea and did not take a seat with the others.

"Anybody with a good ice-breaker?" Steven offered, taking a sip of tea.

"I think I do," Will replied. He turned to face Jones. "Jack Sparrow would like to send you his regards."

The captain's tentacles shivered briefly and Jones' face furrowed up. "Sparrow?"

"He didn't tell you?" Sora looked back and forth between Beckett and Jones, then shrugged. "Well, it's true. We rescued Jack and the _Black Pearl_ from the Locker."

"What else have you not told me?" Jones snarled at Beckett.

"I'm afraid there's a far more pressing matter upon us," Beckett spoke. "Our new friends have mentioned something to me that's quite interesting. Jones, are you familiar with a person called Calypso?"

Jones reacted noticeably upon hearing that name spoken. "Not a person: a Heathen god." He let out a growl beneath his breath. "She was nothing but a witch who cursed men with their wildest dreams before revealing them as nothing but ash. It is better that the world is rid of her."

"Yeaaah...about that..." Steven began hesitantly. "It won't be that way for long. The Brethren Court wants to release her."

"No!" Jones bellowed angrily. "They cannot release her! The First Court promised that she'd remain imprisoned forever; _that_ was their agreement!"

"_Your_ agreement, you mean?" Beckett challenged. Jones' angry demeaner seemed to wither as he turned away and spoke further.

"I showed them how to...bind her," he admitted. "She couldn't be trusted." His eyes drooped on his face, as did his tone of voice. "She gave me no choice." He shook his head and spoke firmly again. "We must act before they are allowed to release her!"

"She was the one." Will stood up in awe, not even putting his teacup down. "From the story...you loved her." His face formed itself grimly. "Then you betrayed her."

"She _pretended_ to love me!" Jones insisted, marching towards Will. "She betrayed _me!_"

Will looked up into the eyes of the captain and didn't back down. "Then I only wonder which betrayal led you to cut out your heart." Jones lifted his crab-claw of a right hand and slapped Will's teacup from his hand. It crashed against the floor, shattering into several pieces.

"Do not test me, boy!" he angrily spat.

"I wasn't finished with that," Will calmly replied, bringing more anger from Jones. "Now, if you will, these are my terms." He pointed to Jones. "You will free my father." Then he turned his finger to Beckett. "You will guarantee our safety, along with Elizabeth's."

"Your terms are steep, gentlemen." Beckett weighed his options in his head. "I can only hope that you can present us with a fair value in return."

"I only have one price in my mind," Jones stated. "Calypso must be prevented from returning and she must be killed."

"We know what you want," Sora spoke up. "We can lead you to Shipwreck Cove. All the pirates will be there."

"How can we do it, you ask?" Steven stood up from his seat. "Well, it really comes down to one question: what do you want more than anything in the world?"

Will accompanied Steven's words by retrieving Jack's compass from his pocket. The feat accomplished by that act was making the corners of Beckett's mouth turn upward voluntarily in the only subtle hint of a grin he would allow to show.

* * *

Unlike the Locker, Shipwreck Cove was not a hidden location. It was kept secret among the pirates, but not hidden. The crew was advised to keep an eye out. It was not by coincidence that the cove was given the name Shipwreck. In fact, the island was also called that. Furthermore, there was a town on the island called Shipwreck, the cove just being a small part of it.

"I have to admit something," Jack said when this was brought up. "I'm not one to call a pirate stupid. However, I will admit to our lack of creativity when it comes to naming things."

"Aye," Gibbs agreed, walking alongside him.

"For example: I once sailed with some loon who had lost both of his arms and a piece of his eye," Jack relayed. "Want to know what I called him?" He paused for effect. "Larry..." He shook his head at himself as he continued his stroll around the deck.

On the bow, urgent matters were at hand.

"I do not fall back on a bargain I've struck," Barbossa said to Tia Dalma. "But I agreed with you to the ends only. The means to accomplish them are mine to decide." He reached for Tia Dalma's arm, but she clasped his wrist fiercely.

"Caution, Barbossa," Tia warned sternly. "Don't forget that my own power brought you back from the dead." As she spoke, Barbossa watched his hand decay into its zombie-like state, as it had been when he was cursed by the Aztec medallions. "You do well to remember what it means for you if you fail me." She thrust his hand away, storming off. Barbossa was persistent, though, and whirled around to grab her arm and pull her back.

"You think I don't know why you brought me back?" he snarled. "I know why Jack and I couldn't be left to our fates. It took the nine pirate lords to bind you, Calypso!" Tia shifted her eyes to face Barbossa's. "It will take no less than nine to set you free." He scanned the deck for the nearest crew members. "Masters Pintel and Ragetti!" The two were alerted to the area immediately. "Put this fishwife in the brig."

The two nodded and flanked Tia Dalma, each gently taking hold of one of her arms. "Right this way, Mrs. Fish," Pintel stated very officially. Tia, however, scowled at the thought of being escorted and pulled her arms away from them. Calmly, she accepted this course of action and showed herself to the brig. Pintel and Ragetti only followed so that they'd be able to lock her in once she was inside.

* * *

_THUD. THUD. THUD._

Barbossa pounded a round table, at least thirty feet long, to call attention to the meeting at hand. The ones required to be attentive involved the nine Pirate Lords and their crew members.

There was Ammand, a corsair from North Africa. He had a stern face that wore a mustache curving upward on both sides, about an inch to the left and right of his nose. He hailed from France and led a crew of corsair pirates. He was the Pirate Lord of the Black Sea.

The second was also from France: Captain Chevalle, Pirate Lord of the Mediterranean. His face was donned in make-up that gave him a very pale complexion as well as a mustache and beard that had been etched on.

Mistress Ching, the only female Pirate Lord in the court, ruled piracy in the Pacific Ocean. Her complexion was also painted with heavy white make-up. Her eyes were very dark and foggy due to her blindness.

Jocard, Lord of the Atlantic, was a tall, Jamaican man adorned in the uniquely designed clothing of the region. He had dark brown skin with a braided goatee hanging from his chin.

The Indian Ocean's Pirate Lord was a man called Sri Sumbhajee. He wore a green turban with a gold plate embedding the front and only his nose, cheeks, eyes, and forehead were not covered by grey facial hair. He also remained quiet, having his men speak for him.

Eduardo Villanueva was the Spanish Pirate Lord, overseeing the Adriatic Sea. He was very plump and his facial hair covered all colors of the spectrum. His mustache was brown. His beard was white with patches of grey and black near his chin.

Then there was Jack and Barbossa, Lords of the Caribbean and the Caspian Sea, respectively. Sao Feng, as of right now, was not at the meeting. Jack was casually playing with the swords that were pierced into a globe near the table, each marking the area of dominance where each Lord reigned with their piracy.

"Ladies and gents!" Barbossa called out. "As he who issued the summons, I now convene the Fourth Bretheren Court." Ragetti shuffled around the table to Sri Suhmbhajee, holding out a large bowl-shaped hat with red fabric lining the inside. Barbossa, meanwhile, continued. "To prove your Lordship and right to be heard, present your Pieces of Eight, fellow captains." Suhmbhajee reached into his pockets and dropped a small calf-horn into the hat. Chevalle was given the hat next, with him placing a card, the Queen of spades. Villanueva placed a broken bottle neck attached to a string inside.

"These aren't pieces of eight." This fact became apparent to Pintel quickly. "They're pieces of junk."

"Aye," Gibbs confirmed, as Jocard placed tobacco cutters in the hat. "The original plan was to use the nine Pieces of Eight to bind Calypso, but the First Court was broke when they were first brought together."

"So change the name," Pintel suggested. Meanwhile, Mistress Ching deposited a pair of spectacles.

"Really?" Gibbs said with scorn. "Present your Nine Pieces of Whatever You Happen To Have In Your Pockets At The Time? Oh yes, that sounds _very_ piratey."

Ammand spat into a tiny goblet before he dropped it into the hat. Barbossa's turn came and he held out his hand. "Master Ragetti, if you would be so kind."

Ragetti looked up to Barbossa. "I kept it safe for you," he said with assurance. "Just like you said to do when you gave it to me."

"Aye, you have, and I be grateful that you did your duty," Barbossa congratulated lightly. "Now I need it back." With no further delay, he smacked Ragetti's head, popping out the wooden eyeball and placing it inside the hat.

"Sparrow!" Villanueva's voice called thickly towards the other end of the room. Jack still stood idly by the globe and Ragetti faithfully rushed over, holding out the hat before Jack. All eyes were on the captain, whose hand hovered next to his head, where a charm carrying a coin danged from the end of it. Jack extended a finger from his hand instead of taking the charm, about to make a point.

"I feel I must remind everyone that we are one Lord short." He stood firmly and grinned. "I'm content as a cucumber to wait until Sao Feng is ready to join us."

"Sao Feng is dead!" The voice that attracted all the attention belonged to Elizabeth, who now headed a crowd of sailors from Singapore. She had even put an outfit befitting of the former Pirate Lord himself, wearing armor in the same guise as the other sailors. "He fell to the _Flying Dutchman!_" Cries of shock, paranoia, and protest were flung about the room while Elizabeth stepped up to the globe and stabbed her sword into the globe, piercing the South China Sea.

"He made _you_ captain?" Jack cried incredulously. "Are they just giving away this title away now?"

Elizabeth stepped up to the table, trying to quell the escalating yells. "Listen to me!" she yelled even louder. "Our location is betrayed. Jones is under the control of Lord Cutler Beckett and they are on their way right now!"

"Who is the betrayer?" Jocard demanded to know.

"It is not anyone among us for certain!" Barbossa replied.

Elizabeth scanned the immediate area for three missing faces. "Where's Will?" She looked some more. "Sora and Steven, too. They're-"

"Not among us," Jack finished, quietly enough to keep it between them.

"It doesn't matter that they found us!" Barbossa assured. "We simply must determine what we do now that they have."

"We fight!" Elizabeth declared.

There was another uproar, but now it was from laughter. Every pirate in the room thought this idea to be ridiculous.

"Shipwreck Cove is a fortress," Ching stated. "A very well-supplied fortress. Why should we fight if they cannot get here to fight us?" A murmer of agreement was echoed in the room, but Barbossa had to cut it short quickly.

"I'm afraid that conventional threats are not what be against us at this hour," he said. The Court silenced their voices and listened. "For you see, also in league with Beckett is a witch of sorts, one whose very name embodies that of pure evil: Maleficent." He hissed when he spoke her name. "She be an evil close to that of the devil himself. The dark powers we face are creatures that feed on the hearts of men. The blackness within every person inside this fortress will be more than enough to bring 'em prowling once they arrive."

"What kind of voodoo tale are you spouting, Barbossa?" A pirate spoke, standing at the shoulder of the silent Sumbhajee. "Sri Sumbhajee wishes to know of your proof of this tale."

"I fought alongside the creatures once," Barbossa answered quickly. "It is a tale I grow tired of telling so many times, so let me just get to my point. We cannot defeat them by conventional means. Two boys, though not present, will be able to assist us in our battle against them."

"Two mere boys? HA!" Chevalle scoffed. The rest of the Court shunned this remark as well.

"I thought the same when I faced one of them months ago in battle, Chevalle," Barbossa said accordingly. "But these two are in possession of special weapons that will give us the might we need to defeat the creatures, known as Heartless."

"So you're saying the Armada will fall to two mere boys?" Ammand challenged.

"Alas, no," Barbossa admitted. "The power of the Armada is colossal, no matter the power one possesses. However, I present a third course of action to our efforts." He placed his hand upon the table. "It was another age in which the First Court stood in the spots that we now occupy. They captured the goddess of the sea and bound her into her bones!" The pirates around the table suddenly looked very prideful, as if they had somehow had something to do with that act. "It was a grave mistake." Having made so many controversial statements at the meeting so far, Barbossa now had even more attention from everybody. "We did tame the seas for ourselves, yes," he allowed. "But then we opened the door to Beckett and his ilk!"

He gestured around the room to everybody. "Mastery of the seas should not come from bargains struck with filth like the East India Trading Company! Better were the days when a man's sweat and his back's strength conquered the sea alone. You all know this to be true!" He made his way back to the head of the table. "Gentlemen and ladies..." Barbossa clasped his hands together. "We must free Calypso."

There was no noise in the room for several seconds. The Court was absolutely dead in conversation. Barbossa frowned that his plan was not seeming to receive any praise. Then, to break the calm, yet another uproar of protests erupted from the mouths of the pirates.

"Shoot him!" Ammand demanded.

"Cut out his tongue!" Jocard added.

"Shoot him _and_ cut out his tongue!" Jack suggested. "Then shoot his tongue as well!" He took a quick look at Barbossa. "Also, I'd recommend that beard be given a trim."

Tai Huang stepped forward. "Sao Feng would agree with Barbossa!"

"Calypso was our enemy then and she will stay our enemy!" Jocard replied.

"It's unlikely her moods improved over all these years!" Chevalle agreed.

"I still agree with Barbossa!" Villanueva declared, setting his gun on the table. "Calypso should be released!"

Chevalle took a look at the gun. "You threaten me, Captain?"

"I silence you!" Villanueva shouted. He pulled up the gun and Chevalle responded with a punch to the fat Spaniard's face. As sudden as it would happen in Tortuga, a massive brawl was started. Pirates began to beat each other up with their fists, broken bottles, and anything they could find. Many were thrown across the table or sent sliding along it. The crews of the _Black Pearl_ and the _Empress_ were the only ones not involved in the fight.

"This is madness!" Elizabeth gasped.

"Welcome to politics," Jack muttered.

"To think," Elizabeth shook her head. "All this happens as our enemies are bearing down on us."

Barbossa rolled his eyes. "If they not be here already," he agreed with a grumble.

* * *

**A/N: A huge thanks to my readers for being so patient with me. Your awesome reviews are what keeps me writing.**


	23. The Sea's Two Furies

The brig of the _Black Pearl_ was bare of all except one occupant. Tia Dalma sighed heavily, sitting upon a bench with a few candles lit beside her, atop a small table. Within her hand, her fingers brush gently along the open heart-shaped locket she had worn on her neck. After such a fury as the one that she had displayed against Barbossa, only the locket could soothe her. It played a lullaby, an innocent twinkle of notes echoing through the silent room. She allowed it to pass for several moments before she closed it.

The tune stopped, then began again. She turned her head in confusion. She knew that her locket was not the source of the noise, but the exact same melody was being played nearby. Peeking out the bars, bars she could barely fit her arm through, a silhouette made itself clear as it stepped into the light. Within the slimy grasp of a tentacle, a similar locket was held. Lifting her head, Tia smiled when she saw the curved brim of a hat, forming an equally curved V-shape at its peak.

"My sweet," she murmered. She sniffled, holding tears that threatened to flow. "You came for me."

The scowl of Davy Jones, even shadowed, was apparent. "You were expecting me," he stated.

"Aye," Tia replied, her voice weak from the happiness she felt upon seeing him. "It has been torture trapped in this single form. For many years, I've been cut off from the sea. From all that I love. And from you."

"Your years were deservingly spent," Jones sneered. "I spent ten years devoting myself to the duty I was charged. Ten years I ferried souls from death at sea to the other side." Even in light of the enchanting tune of the locket, he still claimed a fierce appearance. "When it was all over, when we could have finally been together again, you weren't there." He forcefully snapped the locket shut. "_Why_ weren't you there?"

Tia shook her head sadly. "It is only my nature," she admitted. "Would you love me if I were not the thing that I am?"

Jones turned away in a huff. "I do not love you," he growled. Tia followed his attempt to avoid her.

"You were many things, Davy Jones," Tia said. "But not cruel. Your purpose, and so yourself, have been corrupted." She moved her hand, reaching for Jones' chest. "And you dared hide away what always should have been mine!"

Jones felt his body seize up when her hand made contact. Suddenly, he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. His body was warm, no longer the form of the slimy, grotesque monster that he had become. His tentacled beard shriveled away and flourished, leaving a beard that was gray, but healthy. His scaly flesh gave way to the less smooth, but much more comforting skin. Human skin. He gasped heavily, feeling the oxygen flow through him.

A warm body came with a warm feeling to. He looked upon Tia Dalma with a longing in his eyes, a longing he had not felt for her in a long time. His hand, human as well, shook for a moment before he lifted it to Tia's cheek, stroking it. And her hand was doing the same upon his face. "Calypso..." he whispered.

Tia looked him straight in his eyes and spoke again. "I will be free," she promised. "When I am, I can give you my heart. I can make it so we are together always. I only wish you had a heart to give." With a fierce motion, she removed her hand. Jones' transformation disappeared and he was a cold, heartless octopus-man once again. In shock, he forced his left hand, the crab claw, to clamp Tia's neck. She glared at him harshly, despite being in his mercy. "Why did you come?"

Jones, calming from his outburst, released her and pulled his claw back. However, it was now too large to fit through the bars, and he clumsily pulled a few more times. Then, with a heavy sigh, he walked right through the bars, pushing on through like he was made of water. "So tell me what fate you have planned to befall your captors."

"The Brethren Court?" Tia snarled. "By the end of their lives, the last thing they will know is just how cruel I can be!" Satisfied, Jones turned his back on Tia and started his walk away. Tia turned to speak again, keeping him a moment longer. "And what will be your fate, Davy Jones?" she inquired.

Jones turned his head, his eyes remaining solemn. He spoke again, only his voice no longer had sharpness in its tone. He cast that manner of himself aside to speak in the voice of a lover. "My heart will always belong to you."

Tia's eyes widened happily upon hearing the words. She turned away so he would not see her well up. The two did not face each other again and Jones disappeared, returning from whence he came, a shriveling sound marking his departure.

* * *

Though no fatalities had been observed, the pirates of the Court continued to brawl unrelentingly. Barbossa finally stood on top of the table and fired a single shot at the ceiling. The crack of the pistol was enough to get everybody to go still and pay attention.

"It was the First Court who imprisoned Calypso!" Barbossa reminded every pirate. "If we were to set her free, she would grant us boons out of her gratitude!"

"Whose boons?" Jack questioned. "Yours?"

Barbossa dismounted the table. "If you say you have an alternative, please share."

"Cuttlefish," Jack began, garnering confused stares from the others. "Let us not, dear friends, forget our dear friends the cuttlefish. Free spirits, peaceful. Lock them up together and they'll devour each other without consideration. Human nature, eh? Or maybe fish nature." He strolled up behind Mistress Ching, gently laying his hands on her shoulders. "So we could stay here, all holed up like this, and half of us would be dead within a month." One person from her crew became edgy, so Jack pulled his hands away. "That's pretty grim no matter how you slice it." He pointed to Barbossa. "Or, as my learned colleague naively suggests, we could release Calypso and pray that she will show mercy." He paused in his steps, creating dramatic emphasis. "I rather doubt that. We cannot pretend that she is not a monster with fury like that of hell itself." He turned to face his end of the table and began to finish his thoughts. "With this in mind, I feel there is only one option that could work. I agree with, and I can't believe the words are coming out of me mouth..." With a gulp of regret, he gestured towards Elizabeth. "Captain Swann. We must fight."

Elizabeth blinked in surprise of Jack's statement, as unsure as everyone else about what had just escaped Jack's mouth. However, Barbossa issued a rebuttal upon Jack almost immediately after he had finished speaking. "You've always run away from a fight!"

"Have not," Jack argued.

"You have so," Barbossa insisted.

"Have not!"

"You have so!"

"Have _not!_"

"You have so and you know it!"

"Have not! Slander and calumny!" Jack retorted quickly. "I have only embraced a pirate tradition of noble, ancient dispositions, a tradition we'd be wise to follow now. We must fight-" He drew his sword. "-to run away!"

"Aye!" Gibbs agreed, drawing his own sword. The rest of the _Pearl_'s crew, save for Barbossa, drew their swords as well. The smirk on Barbossa's face was not gone just yet, though.

"But would we not keep in mind the code?" Barbossa asked. "Because as per said code, an act of war such as this can only be declared by the Pirate King."

"You made that up!" Jack protested.

"Did I, now?" Barbossa challenged. "I call for Cap'n Teague, Keeper of the Code!"

Jack's expression sank instantly. Meanwhile, one of the India pirates cleared his throat, preparing to speak for his Lord. "Sri Sumbhajee proclaims this all to be folly!" His voice was more powerful after that, due to the fact that he began speaking for himself. "Hang the code! Who gives a-"

_BANG!_

A black mark appeared on the man's chest and his body shuddered before it tipped over, stiff like a board as it hit the ground. By instinct, everybody turned their heads. A small puff of smoke faded to reveal another captain, Teague, one who bore a striking similar look to Jack. Dreadlocks and a long coat, a large hat, and several rings on his fingers made his appearance. The only difference was the leathery look that encompassed his skin. He blew softly on the pistol, clearing the smoke.

"The code is the law," he stated plainly. He stepped down the staircase that led into the cabin of a ship, making his way towards the table. The demeanor of every pirate changed, as they had slowly begun to sit down again when Teague started his approach. Nobody dared challenge this man. If one were to take a look at Jack, they would've seen the twitching corners of even this confident pirate's mouth when Teague stepped behind him. "You're in my way, boy." Jack shuffled aside without a question.

Teague stepped up to the table. With one hand, he motioned towards himself. Two elder men with heavy white beards upon their faces carried a large square object between them, covering the entire end of the table when they set it down. The item was clarified to be a large book, entitled _Pirata Codex_.

"The code!" Pintel whispered in fascination.

"As set forth by Morgan and Bartholomew..." Ragetti murmered as well. Since Barbossa had taken his wooden eye, Ragetti had no alternative but to wear an eyepatch over his right eye-socket. Pintel took a quick look at it, pondered it in his head, then nodded gently in approval.

The Pirate Code book was binded with metal hinges and a lock between the front and back covers, preventing it from forbidden access. Teague turned away again and whistled. To the surprise of those who would recognize it, namely Pintel and Ragetti, the dog from the prison, the one they presumed had been left on the island with the Pelegostos, trotted happily forward, carrying a ring that only held one key, which he obediently dropped into Teague's waiting hand.

"What?" Ragetti questioned. "It's that...how did-?"

Teague shrugged casually. "Sea turtles, mate." The dog barked twice in agreement before it hopped to the ground and ran off. Teague inserted the key into the lock and pushed open the giant book. His finger trailed down the page he had flipped to and he muttered to himself softly. "Aha...Barbossa is correct."

"Let me see that," Jack said. He bent over to look at the page where Teague's finger had been. "It shall be the duty of the Pirate King to declare and parlay with adversaries."

"There's been no King since the First Court!" Chevalle informed. "That's not likely to change now."

"Not likely indeed," Teague agreed, retreating from the area and sat in a chair several feet away from the meeting. He picked up a guitar and began plucking it to a gentle tune.

"Why?" Elizabeth wondered aloud, as did others who were unaware.

"Popular vote is how a Pirate King is elected," Gibbs explained.

"Aye," Barbossa confirmed. "And each pirate only ever votes for hisself."

Jack's opportunity was conceived at that moment. "I call for a vote!" Groans were heard unanimously among the Court, but they went along with this request.

"I vote for Armand, the Corsair!" Armand voted.

"Captain Chevalle, the penniless Frenchman!"

"Sri Sumbhajee votes for Sri Sumbhajee."

"Mistress Ching!"

"Gentlemen Jocard!"

Elizabeth shrugged and continued the pattern. "Elizabeth Swann."

Barbossa smiled. "Barbossa."

"Villanueva!"

Jack was the only vote left and everybody waited expectantly. Even Teague stopped playing his guitar to hear the result. Jack wore a smile before he spoke. "Elizabeth Swann."

Elizabeth blinked several times. "What?"

"Strange, isn't it?" Jack replied. Teague casually began playing his guitar again. However, there was uproar in the rest of the court. Every pirate was angered by the fact that Jack had done the selfless thing instead of what they all had believed he would do. "Am I to understand that you all will not be keeping to the Code?" The mere mention of a Code violation alarmed Teague, causing him to snap the top string of his guitar, creating a loud sound that caught everyone's attention. Combined with a harsh glare from the Code Keeper, the rest of the pirates fell silent once again.

"Very well," Mistress Ching spoke, giving in. Though blind, she gestured to where she had heard Elizabeth's voice, giving attention directly to her. "What do you say, Captain Swann, King of the Brethren Court?"

Elizabeth smiled, taking a breath to take in the victory for a moment. "Prepare any vessel that floats. At dawn, we will be at war."

Another small shock would follow, for Sri Sumbhajee arose from his chair. "And so, we shall go to war!" The whole court did a double-take when they heard the incredibly high pitch that Sri Sumbhajee's voice had, but they were all cheering the next moment. If this had just inspired Sri Sumbhajee to speak, this was clearly a rare day. Barbossa sighed gently, then jerked his head upward as a signal to Ragetti. The lackey understood and quickly hid the hat containing the Pieces of Eight inside his coat.

Jack looked upon the first uproar of happiness in today's court, brought about by his hand. As the others started to leave, Jack altered direction to face Teague, whose expression remained grim as ever. "What?" he wondered. "Don't look at me like that. You've seen it all, done it all. You survived. That's the real trick, isn't it? Surviving?"

Teague shook his head gently. "It isn't just about living forever, Jackie." He placed his guitar beside the chair, which could appropriately be called his throne. "The trick is to live with yourself forever."

Jack nodded in understanding. His mouth twitched a bit before he spoke again, more casually. "How's Mum?" Teague stared blankly at Jack, not even altering his expression as he lifted a shrunken head before the captain. It was black in color, had rotting dirty-blonde hair, and bones crossed over its mouth. Jack's eyes darted back and forth between Teague and the skull and forced a smile. "She looks...great!"

* * *

At dawn, Elizabeth's bidding was done. Each and every ship belonging to the pirates had formed a small fleet, faced outward from their stronghold. They watched the foggy distance with great expectations. Several minutes passed before, finally, one ship began to reveal itself. The ragged nature of it made it clear that it was the _Dutchman_ at the head.

"The enemy is here!" Marty cried out. He lifted his pistol. "Let's take 'em!" His example was copied by nearly every pirate across the fleet. Before long, more of the Armada's ships began to reveal themselves. Then another. Then some more. Before long, it became clear to the pirates that there were _a lot_ of ships up against them, numbering at more than thirty, just based on how many they could see.

"Awk! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" Cotton's parrot fluttered its wing and departed from the shoulder of his constant companion, headed towards a large island not too far from the area.

It hit the pirates that they were heavily outnumbered and their shouts of confidence slowly dimmed down. The ones on the _Black Pearl_ turned their heads towards the one who had elected the King who had made this decision, glares very apparent on their faces. Jack's eyes traveled around to witness each glare he was receiving and smiled innocently. "Parlay?"

This choice was evidently appropriate, as a white flag was raised by the East India Trading Company's fleet shortly after the pirates had put up their own. A sandbar was located about halfway between the two fleets, an ideal place for negotiation. The three negotiators for the pirates were Jack, Elizabeth, and Barbossa, who carried Jack the monkey on his shoulder. When they arrived at the sandbar and made their long walk towards the other end, they could spot five people opposite them. On the far right was Davy Jones, standing in a bucket of water. Beckett and Will were the next in the line. Double-takes were expressed by the three pirates when Sora and Steven were shown to be occupying the remaining spots.

"So you are the curs who led these wolves to our door," Barbossa grumbled.

"Come now," Beckett chided. "Don't blame the boys. They're only the tools of your betrayal. If you want to see their grand architect, look to your left."

Barbossa looked to Elizabeth. Elizabeth looked at Jack. Jack turned his head to see nobody else to the left, which narrowed the accusation to him alone. He held up his fingers, examining them briefly. "In a figurative sense, my hands are clean in this."

"We captured a ship," Sora reminded. "Steven and I weren't associated with Jack in this."

"Or maybe we just wanted to lead you here to take you down," Steven mused with a shrug. "It was a consideration, at least."

"My actions were to my own purpose," Will stated. "Jack was not involved."

"See?" Jack declared, pointing excitedly at the three. "The tools have spoken!"

"Will!" Elizabeth spoke, getting her lover's attention. "I've been aboard the _Dutchman_. I know the burden you bear, but I feel the course is lost."

Will shook his head. "No course is lost if at least one fool is left to fight for it."

Beckett reached into his pocket and pulled out something attached to a string. "If Jack was not behind their actions, how'd they come to give me this?" Jack sighed inwardly when he saw his compass dangling. "You made a deal to bring me the pirates, Jack. They are all right here." He tossed the compass across the empty space between the two parties into Jack's hands. "Don't be bashful. Step up and claim the reward."

"But your debt to me is still to be satisfied!" Jones said, speaking for the first time in this negotiation. "One hundred years of servitude aboard the _Dutchman_ will be enough to start you off!"

"That debt was settled, mate," Jack reminded. He nodded towards Elizabeth. "With a little help."

"An invalid escape!" Jones spat back.

Jack wasn't done arguing. "Technically-"

"I propose an exchange." Elizabeth pointed to Will. "Will can leave with us." She turned her head to look at Captain Sparrow. "And you can take Jack."

"Done," Will replied immediately. Jack's face was rearranged in a look of regret.

"Undone!" he argued.

"Done!" Beckett agreed.

Barbossa protested as well, strange as it was. "Jack is a Pirate Lord!" he whispered to Elizabeth. "You have no right to do this!"

"As King," Elizabeth said firmly.

Jack smiled momentarily, remembering that he had elected her to the position. A look of command from Elizabeth jolted him back into the reality that her election was now putting him in this situation. Grudgingly, he removed his hat and bowed. "As you command, your nibs."

"Blaggard!" Barbossa called as he drew his sword. He quickly swiped it at Jack's bandana and severed the coin on a beaded string from it. Jack the monkey quickly bounded to the ground and picked it up. Jack rose, surprised and astonished that Barbossa had seemingly just tried to kill him. A moment's thought found the logic of this action, however, and Barbossa smiled at him. "If you have something to say, I might be saying something too."

"First to the finish, then?" Jack muttered. Having sealed the deal, Will stepped away from his spot and walked back towards the side that was truly his. Jack turned around, walking backwards to take said place, only to be blocked by Beckett, who directed Jack to a spot right beside Jones. Squeamishness filled Jack as he turned slightly to stand beside his fishy foe. He placed his hat on and made no eye contact, even when Jones leaned in to whisper in his hear.

"Do you fear death, Jack Sparrow?" the captain snarled.

"You've no idea," Jack deadpanned.

Sora made the next move to walk away, but Beckett held a hand before him. "I don't believe you were part of the exchange, Sora."

"This a negotiation," Sora reminded. "We're not going to fight here. Besides, you can't stop us from leaving."

"I'm not one to be underestimated, boy," Beckett warned.

"I heard something pretty wise once, something you should follow." Sora stepped forward and turned around. His shining blue eyes stared into the cold, icy ones of Beckett. "A man once said 'the only thing more dangerous than underestimating an enemy is overestimating yourself'."

A small lump flexed in Beckett's throat while Steven, standing to the right of him, chuckled heavily. "Burned by your own wisdom, eh Beckett?" Defeated, Beckett made no attempt to stop Steven and Sora from moving back to their allies. "But hey, come on: would you rather have me and Sora fighting from the other side or on the inside?"

"I don't think you realize how little it would matter," Beckett replied. "You have an armada against you. I doubt that anything in the world, even the power of the Keyblade, could stand up against my forces _and_ the Heartless."

"You never know until you try," Sora admitted. "But I'm ready to try and so are my friends."

"I've got a small thought for you, Beckett," Steven spoke. The others blinked, unsure of what would come from Steven's mouth. "What if me and Sora were to leave?"

This brought forth gasps from every pirate. Jones raised both eyebrows in surprise.

Sora's eyes widened in shock. "Steven? What are you saying?"

Steven turned back to face his ally. "Sora, the idea is to keep the world in its natural order. Like it or not, this is the natural order of things."

Beckett remained expressionless. "What would you want in return for your departure?"

"You would then renounce your control of the Heartless," Steven replied. "Sora and I have to keep order, yes. But the Heartless are not part of the natural order. Don't get me wrong; even with no Heartless, we'd stick around to fight just based on the fact that you have to be stopped. However, I'm asking what you'd do if we decided to stay out of the conflict and let natural order take care of things."

"Why would I relinquish creatures that could help me accomplish my goals here and now?" Beckett scoffed. "And the pirates are only the beginning. Against the Heartless and the Armada, you don't have a chance at stopping me from eliminating you. After that, the goals of myself, Maleficent, and my other allies will be no struggle."

Steven took several breaths, going silent. The odds did seem to be against them by collossal proprotions. Beckett was not lying about the odds that were stacked up against them. The only thing that he said wrong was the promise of defeat. A battle would not be determined until it had been fought.

"There's always a chance in something, no matter how slim." Sora had stepped forward next. "Even if you did defeat us, there are more Keybearers out there and they're more than ready to fight you too." Sora stepped back again, standing next to Will. Steven took his own spot beside Sora. "I'm sorry that you won't give up the Heartless. It's really for your own good that you should get rid of them, but that's your own choice, so suit yourself."

Beckett stepped forward next. "Though I predict a battle to be upon us soon, I will advise you and your Brethren." Beckett moved forward, getting closer to his enemies. "If you fight, all of you will die. If you don't fight, then I can ensure that only _most_ of you will die."

Elizabeth was the last to march forward, walking closer to Beckett and standing directly in front of him. Her angry eyes met his and she stared. "You murdered my father."

Beckett smirked. "Your father chose that fate."

"Then you've chosen yours," Elizabeth said. "We _will_ fight and you _will_ die."

"So be it," Beckett whispered. With no further exchange of conversation, the two groups parted and headed back towards longboats that had brought them here.

"King?" Will questioned.

"Of the Brethren Court," Elizabeth answered. "Courtesy of Jack."

Will raised an eyebrow. "Maybe he knows what he's doing after all."

Sora walked alongside Steven, curious about his bold move. "Did you really think we could leave if Beckett would get rid of the Heartless?"

"It's possible," Steven admitted. "But even if we did, you and I both know he'd go back on his word within five seconds of us leaving."

"Yeah," Sora answered. He turned around and walked backwards for a few seconds, looking upon the armada he faced. "I don't think I've ever faced an army that big before."

Steven stopped and faced the direction of the enemey as well. "You think the odds are against us?"

"No." Sora smiled widely. "I say bring them on."

"Me too." The two Keybearers turned tail and ran to rejoin their allies while Jack was forced to join his enemies and taken aboard the _Dutchman_.

* * *

Beckett arrived upon the deck of the _Endeavor _and assembled his men in a line. He walked from his cabin, moving across the line as he addressed them. "Negotiation took place," he informed. "But the enemy has opted for oblivion." He stopped in front of the commander and issued an order. "Ready the fleet."

"To your stations!" the commander yelled. The British sailors dispersed and went to their respective posts at the ship, preparing for further orders.

Beneath the deck of the _Dutchman_, Jack had been hastily stripped of his weapons and hat, dragged to the brig and locked up. It left no leisure for him and all he had to do was lean carelessly against the bars. Around him, he heard the clatter from above deck, the wind over the sea, the swishing sound of water-

"Bravo!" And the sound of his voice coming from a mirage of himself, sitting on a bench in the cell. Jack felt like he was in the Locker again, going mad. "You've successfully arrived aboard the _Dutchman_, as so states the overall scheme."

"Not quite to book, being in the brig and all." Another Jack spoke, leaning against a pole. "But chapeau, mate! Utter clockwork!"

Jack looked between the two, then stared very hard. "Go away!" he demanded.

"Back to the Locker?" The first mirage scoffed.

"Only if you come with, Jackie," the second said.

Eyes opened up on the wall, revealing a mirage of Jack that had become a part of the _Dutchman_. A coral skeleton and seaweed were a fate that could await him if he remained aboard for several years. "Stab the heart," he stated. This creature peeled itself away from the wall. "Live forever as captain of the _Flying Dutchma_n." Disgustingly, he reached up to an exposed brain on his head and literally pulled it out, admiring it before him, much to the disgust of the other Jacks. "But if you're here in the brig, who's to stab the heart?" He took a lick of the brain, which further grossed out his fellow Jacks.

* * *

The crew of the _Pearl_, along with the rest of the Brethren, watched patiently as the longboat carrying their negotiators made its return. Quickly, they could spot several key differences between the departing longboat and the returning one. The boat itself was the same, of course, but the passengers had been switched. Barbossa and Elizabeth returned as expected, but Jack was gone. Furthermore, one man and two boys who hadn't traveled with the pirates to the negotiation point were now coming with them to the ship.

"Hail the conquering heroes!" Pintel bellowed. "They're back!"

Ragetti peered down to the longboat as it came up beside the larger vessel and saw the ones who had returned. He focused on one in particular. "Stevie!"

Steven jerked his head up when he heard his name called and waved. "Hey, Ragetti!" He stood up in the boat and hopped at the rope ladder to be the first to return to the ship to greet Ragetti, as well as Pintel.

"You finally came back, mate!" Pintel declared, pulling Steven into a tight hug. Ragetti joined in quickly and the two rejoiced heavily at their friend's return.

"So what'd I miss?" Steven began, then he took a double-take at Ragetti's eye. "What's with the patch?"

Ragetti dropped his voice. "Me eye was a Piece of Eight."

"Ahhh..." Steven nodded. "Well, I like the patch. It looks very classic."

Steven kept speaking for a bit, turning away and reflecting on Ragtti's new look. The two would've stayed, but Ragetti and Pintel were suddenly alerted to a stare from Barbossa and bolted below deck to follow the pirate's silent order.

"-and I think it really sends a message to anyone who sees you, you know?" Steven turned around to acknowledge his friends, only to find them gone. "They ditched me..." He sighed. "Pirates."

"Master Sora!" Gibbs held out his hand, which Sora shook firmly in greeting. "It's mighty good to have you in our midst again. I was mighty worried that you and Master Steven had abandoned ship."

"Not on your life, Gibbs," Sora answered. "But glad to be back. Did we miss anything?"

"Only the Court's gathering," Gibbs replied. "Elizabeth was elected King and decided to wage war upon the East India Company. All that remains is the battle before us."

Sora smiled gently at the thought. "So in other words, I'm just in time?"

"Aye!" Gibbs declared happily.

Elizabeth and Will made their way up to the deck next, climbing aboard. "Prepare for battle!" Elizabeth announced. "We'll use the _Pearl_ as a flagship to lead our attack!"

"Oh, will we, now?" Barbossa answered. The crew began to back away from the opening that led below deck. Being forced up by the tug of dozens of ropes tied arond her body, Tia Dalma was lead, stumbling across the deck with no strength to fight against the pirates.

Sora and Steven looked at each other when it hit them both. They didn't need to read each other's mind to know what was going through them. _Tia is Calypso?_? After further consideration, they considered her voodoo and magical abilities and decided that being a goddess was suiting to her.

"Barbossa, no!" Will tried to step towards the pirate, but three Singaporean sailors stepped up and pointed pistols at him. "You can't release her!"

"We need to give Jack a chance!" Elizabeth protested.

"Apologies, your majesty," Barbossa mumbled, with a clear hint of contempt. "But too long has my fate been placed in the hands of someone else." He gripped the jade shell Elizabeth wore around her neck, Sao's Piece of Eight. "No longer," he hissed, ripping the item right off her neck. He stepped away immediately and dropped Jack's beaded coin and the necklace into the hat with the other seven items.

"Be there some rite or incantation?" Gibbs asked.

"Aye. The Nine Pieces of Eight have been brought together. These symbolic items will be burned as an offering." Barbossa held out one hand, in which Ragetti placed a wooden pole with two sizzling branches at its end, designed for lighting cannons. Gibbs spilled a small amount of rum into the hat to help with the burning. "And someone must speak the words 'Calypso, I release you from your human bonds'."

"That's all?" Pintel asked.

"Nay." Barbossa smiled softly. "When said, it must be spoke as if to a _lover_." At the very mention of the concept of love, snickers were spreading furiously throughout the ship.

"Barbossa? Speaking as a lover?" Steven had to cover his mouth to muffle his intense laughter.

Sora even chuckled a little. "That'll be interesting."

Barbossa cast a sideways glare at the Keybearers, then lifted the fuse lighter. "Calypso! I release you from your human bonds!" He lowered the lighter to the items and waited for a moment. The sailors cringed in fear of what might happen, but a few seconds passed and it became apparent that the ritual was not working. Barbossa dropped the lighter to the deck and stormed over to Tia. "I should've known that the power of the sea could not be freed so easily. What be missing from the ritual?"

"Nothing," Ragetti spoke up suddenly. "You just didn't say it right." Barbossa stepped gently away and raised an eyebrow calmly towards Ragetti. "You...you need to say it right." Slowly, Ragetti made his way towards Tia Dalma. "Calypso..." He spoke with a softer tone than Barbossa's yell to the sky. He leaned down by her ear and whispered. "I release you from your human bonds."

Tia, her face bearing a weakened expression, was finally eased into a semi-relaxed state. The hat holding the items reacted as well, spitting up fire and causing Tia to seize up and tremble violently. The other sailors held her in place before the hat, making sure that she inhaled the fumes of the burning items that were being offered for her release.

"Tia Dalma!" Will cried, lunging forward. He was still held back in part by the Singaporean sailors, but he was now only a few feet from the waking goddess. "Calypso." Her eyes opened wide and she spun her head to face him. The hat dropped to the deck of the ship and spilled. The charred remains of the items plopped onto the deck, little more than ash. "When the First Court imprisoned you, who told them how?" Tia's angry expression became more profound, as did her trembling. "Who was it that betrayed you?"

"Name him!" Tia snarled.

Will stared sternly into her eyes. "Davy Jones."

Tia's face contorted again, only this time to an expression of sadness. It clenched slowly beyond that into a complexion of suffering. The trembling turned into swelling. Tia was growing bigger and causing the ropes to unfurl, though they remained around her body.

"This is it!" Pintel declared, keeping hold of his rope and backing away from Tia. "This is it!"

Indeed it was. Tia was growing and growing by the second. Twenty feet she reached and she still didn't stop. The ropes were tightened and being tugged at. Some of the men struggled to keep hold of them as the tug threatened to let the binds of Calypso slip away. Harnesses tied to posts aboard the ship snapped pieces of it away. The deck cracked in some places from the sheer weight and pressure it was being dealt.

Then it was over. Tia Dalma stood in the center of the ship as she had only moments ago. The only difference was now that she stood about fifty feet tall, a goddess with a large stature to match her great power. Were it not for the very lengthy ropes around her body, she would have freedom to crush every crew member and sink the _Black Pearl_. As a goddess, no one could predict what kind of power she might exert.

A few seconds of staring in awe passed. Steven tilted his head a bit as he eyed the colossal woman before him. "That goddess once flirted with me..." He fainted a moment later.

Barbossa got down on one knee and bowed his head. "Calypso!" The rest of the crew followed suit. "I come before you as a servant, humble and contrite." He raised his head and looked up at the giant woman before him. "I have fulfilled my vow and now ask for your favor." Tia stared down at the minuscule people before her as he spoke. "Spare me self, me ship, and me crew, but unleash your fury upon those who would dare claim to be your masters or mine!"

Tia seemed to smile again, as if perfectly willing to abide by this request. Then a low rumbling seemed to well up inside her. She opened her mouth and a low noise, one that seemed to present a very deep voice mingled with that of Tia's regular voice, shouted out gibberish at the sailors, shrieking curses at them. The rumbling of the ship alerted every person to their feet, even arousing Steven from his shocked state. Tia struggled against the mast for a few seconds before her body began to decompose.

At least, that _seemed_ to be what was happening. Her body instantly began to break down and the pieces of it rained onto the deck of the ship. The screaming crew soon could see that a giant pack of crabs, entirely identical to the ones that had rescued the _Pearl_ from the Locker, falling towards them.

"Reflect!" Sora cried out, holding up his Keyblade. The transparent barrier formed around him and deflected any crabs that would come down upon him or from anywhere around him. The rest of the crew dealt with the barrage head on, scrambling for space where crabs would not topple over their heads. The massive downpour resulted in the crabs overflowing the deck and toppling over the edge of the vessel and into the ocean.

Sora put his shield down. Looking around him, he felt a pang of guilt for the sailors who had been rained upon. Most were okay, but a few had attracted some crabs that now pinched them in many areas of their body. Pintel breathed heavily as he pulled one from his nose. Ragetti reached into his trousers to pull one from his leg and flung it away.

"Owowowowowowowww!" Steven ran across the deck, having five in total clinging to his right arm, both legs, and his torso. He kicked, flung his arms, and flailed to get the crabs off of him. "No disrespect, Calypso, but these things hurt!"

Pintel peered over the edge, as did many of the other crew members. "This ain't helping at all," he muttered, loud enough for plenty to hear. He, as well as others, turned to Barbossa, who now looked out to the water with a deep frown. "So what now?"

Barbossa let his breath flow slowly from his closed mouth. "Nothing," he answered at last. "Our final hope has failed us."

The wind reacted to his statement, seizing and carrying away the hat of one of the sailors aboard the ship. It picked up, ruffling the rolled-up sails of the _Pearl_ and making its ropes taut. The ship itself seemed to creak in anticipation, yearning for battle.

Elizabeth observed the activity shifting around her. "It's not over," she realized.

"We can still fight," Will agreed.

"We've an armada against us," Gibbs said solemnly. "And with the _Dutchman_, there's no chance."

"Let them come," Sora said. "I've been in big battles before. We can win this!"

"It's a fool's chance," Elizabeth replied. Then she smiled. "But a chance none the less."

Barbossa stepped up to Elizabeth. "Revenge won't bring back your father, Miss Swann. It is not something I be intending to risk my life for."

Elizabeth nodded. "I would not expect someone to die for my own revenge," she admitted. She looked to them. "But there is more than that in this world. What _would_ you die for?" She walked towards the railing. "You will listen to me," she ordered, then she shrieked. "Listen!" She climbed up to the railing and stood where everybody could see her. Her wavy hair flew in the wind as she held onto the rigging and spoke. "The Brethren still look to the _Black Pearl_ to lead our fight. They will not see a pack of frightened bilge rats on a derelict ship. They will see free men! And freedom!" Her speech's power grew with each sentence she preached. "The thunder of our cannons and the ring of our swords will let our enemies know what we can do!"

Steven's eyes widened slightly as she spoke. His state of shock, little by little, was dissolving from him. Sora nodded in affirmation, seeing the armada as nothing that he, Steven and the pirates couldn't handle together. Gazing up at Elizabeth as well was her fiance, standing proudly as she sought to lead the pirates into the biggest battle of their lives. The rest of the men gained stature and confidence as she yelled to the crowd of sailors.

"By the strength of our backs, the sweat of our brows, and the courage in our hearts!" Elizabeth declared in finality. She took a deep breath, lowering her voice. "Gentlemen: hoist the colors."

Will nodded. "Hoist the colors."

"Hoist the colors," Sora said, summoning his Keyblade.

"Hoist the colors!" Pintel cried out. Murmurs such as this were mimicked among the rest of the crew, chattering all around.

"Aye," Gibbs murmured. "The wind is on our side, boys! We need nothing else!"

"AYE!" That was the unanimous cry of the _Pearl_'s crew as they stuck up their swords.

Steven held up his hand and summoned his own Keyblade, laughing loudly with pride. "I love inspirational speeches."

Elizabeth smiled at the effect of her words, then turned to face the other ships, making eye contact with Tai Huang, the interim captain of the _Empress_. "Hoist the colors!" she bellowed again. Huang drew his sword and cried out. The cheering, the inspiration, the energy, the pirate pride soon infected every ship on the line. The flags donning the symbols of piracy were raised, including the _Black Pearl_'s own black flag: the Jolly Roger, donning a skull and two crossed blades.

Beckett's commander approached him aboard the _Endeavor_. "The wind is favorable, sir."

Beckett glanced up. "So it is." He sat at a small table, pouring some sugar into his tea and mixing the brown liquid. "Signal Jones to give no quarter in the battle. That should brighten his day a little."

The order was given and two flags were waved accordingly as a signal. Mercer received it at the helm of the _Dutchman_. "To arms!" he commanded. "We are to give no quarter!"

No quarter was a sailing term meaning that no mercy would be shown. Total annihilation was the objective of this battle. Jones stared at Mercer for a moment as this order was conveyed. His face then turned upwards to face the sky. A fog was beginning to settle in and dim the area. Heavy clouds began to grow and swirl, releasing lightning and thunder over the massive area of open sea in which this battle would take place.

"Calypso," Jones whispered to himself. Another flash of lightning came, followed by thunder and a steady stream of rain. The steadiness took only two seconds to raise a downpour, followed by an outright storm of water coming down upon them. Jones closed his eyes, allowing the precipitation to cover his sea-monster face. Then his eyes sprang open and he bellowed to the sky. "AAAAAAAH!"

Unfurling from their fastenings were the sails for the _Flying Dutchma_n. The sails caught in the wind and the ship was advanced forward, heading directly towards the small fleet of pirate ships. Opposite them, the _Black Pearl_ was setting sail as well. Sailors aboard both vessels began to man their stations.

"On top of all everything that's happening, it's raining too?" Pintel complained.

"That's a bad sign!" Ragetti agreed, following him below deck.

Steven shivered in his sleeveless shirt, shaking his arms to ensure he could still feel them. "Note to self: invest in a coat!" He looked over to Sora in envy. "How the heck does your hair do that?"

Sora, his hair retaining its traditional spikiness, shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

The rain remained relatively steady in its heavy downpour, but the clouds and the stormy activity increased. Lighting struck at the surface of the sea and the wind affected the rain's falling patterns, leaving almost nothing dry. One strike of lightning signaled a depression in the ocean, literally. The water actually seemed to drop downward as if there was a sudden hole that it flowed to. then the center of this depression darkened, as the water at its based swirled to the point of oblivion.

Gibbs peered over the side of the ship and easily spotted this new obstacle dead ahead. "Maelstrom!"

Elizabeth and Will rushed over to Barbossa, who was facing out at the sea. "Captain Barbossa!" Only a subtle glance was given to them when Elizabeth referred to him as captain. "We need you at the helm!"

Barbossa looked Elizabeth in the eye. A certain gleam had taken it, glistening despite the clouds and the rain that darkened everything around them. "Aye, that be true!" He pushed Cotton from the wheel of the ship and took hold. "Brace up the yards, you cavalry of deck apes!" He spun the wheel with a forceful push. "The dying day is the day worth living for!"

They began to divert their course, starting a maneuver to circle the giant bowl-shaped whirlpool that covered the battlefield of sea. The _Dutchman_ was still advancing towards the massive depression.

"Veer off!" Mercer urged.

His orders were interrupted by Jones, who shoved the redcoat steering his ship out of the way, taking his position at the helm. "She'll not harm us!" he assured. He spun the wheel back on track, heading for the maelstrom. "Full forward and into the abyss!"

"Are you mad?" Mercer bellowed over the downpour of rain.

"Ha!" Jones sneered. "You afraid to get wet?"

Mercer looked on nervously, but didn't stop Jones as he steered the ship straight into the maelstrom. The fast-moving water pulled it along, moving it closer to the _Pearl_. Though it circled from higher ground, the brilliant vessel was losing its lead on the _Dutchman_.

"She's gaining on our stern!" Will warned.

"More speed!" ordered Barbossa, turning the wheel towards the maelstrom. "Haul wind and hold water!"

Even as the _Pearl_ began to venture slightly into the mass of dangerous waters, the _Dutchman_ had been propelled much closer, leaving them in range.

"Bow cannons!" Jones snarled. The front flaps of his ship opened up and the triple-barreled cannons where thrust into view, aimed straight at their target. One was fired, followed in short succession by the other. The barrel of the first had already rotated and fired another one at their enemies, leaving little time to react.

The wheel of the _Pearl_ suffered a strike, as well as a few spots on deck. A sailor was sent overboard by the blast of a cannon. "Turn us away or they'll overbear us!" Will urged.

"Nay!" Barbossa defied. "Cut across to faster waters! Further in!" He turned the wheel more and the _Pearl_ made the same descending motion into the swirling vortex of water. Before long, it was leaving the _Dutchman_ well behind it, though the two ships remained across from each other, on opposite sides.

"Man the cannons!" Gibbs called out. "Keep the powder dry!"

A good portion of the crew retreated below deck and rolled the cannons to firing position. Steven took a spot by the railing and aimed his Keyblade directly at the _Dutchman_. Taking an approach from higher ground, Sora climbed the rigging up to the crow's nest and pointed his own Keyblade. The ships, distant as they were, were now board-to-board, a perfect opportunity for anybody to take.

"Fire!" Barbossa ordered.

"Fire!" Elizabeth shouted in agreement.

"Fire!" Gibbs yelled to the crew below deck. "Fire all!"

"Fire!" The spell was uttered by both Sora and Steven, sending their projectiles across the air and zooming towards the _Dutchman_. The crew of the _Pearl_ lit the fuses of the cannons and their payload of cannon fire was heaved towards Jones' ship as well. The attacked ship was not about to waste any time before dishing out their own offense.

"Fire!" Jones bellowed, ushering forth the blast of his own cannons, obliterating other random spots on the _Pearl_. On both sides, opposing cannons were forced back, crew members were shoved to the ground or overboard by the blasts and circling of the ships within the maelstrom gradually brought them closer together as they sailed.

"It be too late to alter course now, mateys!" Barbossa cackled happily, with a thrill to be in the midst of battle.

* * *

Throughout all the carnage and obliteration of ships, the one area that seemed to remain unaffected was the brig, where Jack and his mirage counterparts paced around the cell, muttering to themselves and yet to come up with a plan to escape the brig.

"Think like the whelp " he muttered to himself over and over again. The other apparitions of himself constantly chanted the same thing until one of them finally reached the door of the cell and was able to examine it.

"Half-barrel hinges," he announced.

"Leverage," said the other two.

The bench of the brig was immediately put to better use as three of the Jack's shoved it through the bars. They pushed down on it and the old trick Jack had learned was put in motion once again. The real Jack kicked down the cell door and he walked out. "Wish us luck, boys. We'll need it!" A brief silence followed his departure.

"I miss him already," said one mirage of Jack.

"Me too. He's quite a charming fellow, isn't he?" agreed the other one.

"Nobody move!" The third illusion of Jack hopped to his feet in alarm. "I dropped me brain."

Jack stepped through the ship, searching for his confiscated weapons and hat. He had only a small hunch, but he decided to try the captain's cabin first. He hesitated upon entrance due to the rumbling caused by the impact of a cannon ball on the outside of the ship, but he proceeded. However, another hesitation presented itself when he saw two redcoats on either side of a post.

On top of the post was the chest, which contained the heart of Jones. Posts on both sides of this one had been constructed as perches for two small cannons. The two spotted him and instantly pointed their weapons at Jack. "Don't move or we'll shoot!" the first one warned. Another cannon impact caused a burst of steam to enter the room, startling the two guards.

"Good one," Jack complimented. He walked directly to his right when he saw his sword and hat resting on top of a table. His movements were tracked by the cannons. "I've just come to get me effects," Jack promised, holding up his sword before he slipped the strap over his shoulder. He picked up his hat and placed it on his head. "Admirable as it may be, why are you two here when there is an absolutely exhilarating battle going on out there?"

"Someone has to stay and guard the chest," the second redcoat. "It's just orders is all. Have to follow orders." Quickly, the two turned their cannons back onto the chest.

"Got to question our orders in these strange times, though," the first guard spoke up. "We try to stick to the book, but this vessel has suffered an extreme drop in military discipline."

"I blame the fish people," the second said.

"Oh, that's lovely," the first responded. Jack, who had walked over by the chest, lifted his hand and opened his mouth, as if to speak. However, the redcoats didn't even seem to notice. "You think that by the mere dint of being fish people, they are automatically deemed to be less disciplined than non-fish people?"

"From what I've seen of them, it seems contributory," the second defended. "I'm only suggesting."

"But it has a ring of truth," the first guard affirmed. Confident that their conversation was distracting enough, Jack gripped the handles of the chest and began to calmly walk away from the two soldiers. "And if there were no fish people, we'd have no reason to guard the chest."

"And if there were no chest, we wouldn't need to be here to guard it," the second one finished. Returning their gaze to the chest, they were incredibly surprised to find that the chest had left its post, right out from under their noses. They stared in awe, then looked at each other in confusion.

* * *

After circling the maelstrom and firing off cannons, the _Dutchman_ was ordered once again by Mercer. "Prepare to board!" he yelled. Jones, still steering, kept his eyes out for incoming cannon balls. At the opportune moment, he saw one coming towards the area they both stood in.

"Cover!" He leaped away from the wheel and plowed Mercer against the railing, pushing him away from the incoming projectile. The redcoats stationed alongside them were not so lucky. The ball barreled straight into them and kept going, knocking them forcefully across the deck.

Jones stepped back from Mercer, smiling widely. "The _Dutchman_ will sail as the rightful captain commands!" he declared.

Mercer glared fiercely at Jones. "That's enough out of you!" He raised his hand upward. Five Shadow Heartless formed a perimeter around Mercer. "As long as these creatures can reach your heart, your control no longer exists!"

"Then tell me, who would have the greater control over the Heartless? A black-hearted man such as yourself?" Jones followed up with a wide smirk. "Or a man who no longer has a heart?"

The realization on Mercer's face slowly took in and his eyes widened. There were five Heartless around him should Jones be correct. "You're bluffing!" he screamed in desperate denial.

"Ian Mercer!" Jones snarled. "Do you fear death?" He drew his sword and pointed. "Attack!"

It all happened in five seconds. Mercer turned and began to run. The Heartless altered their positions to face him. They leaped up and pounced him to the ground, stopping his escape. "No!" Mercer screamed as the monsters held his body against the ground, squirming as they prepared to feast on him. One plunged into his chest, forcing his body to a jolt. His shocked expression was the last thing visible to the world before his body vanished and a spurt of darkness remained in its place. A small portal formed from this and from it burst another Shadow Heartless, one that joined its allies and stood before Jones, their new master.

Satisfied, Jones sheathed his sword, bending over the spot where Mercer had died. In the midst of what would've been the man's corpse, the key to Jones' chest laid upon the deck. One of his beard's tentacles reached down and slipped through the ring attached to the handle, lifted it before his face. Stuffing it back in his coat where it belonged, Jones turned his attention to the sea.

"No joyful voice will be heard," he muttered to himself. He felt his power now and it was mighty. "No man will look up at the sky with hope." He lifted his crab claw of a right hand, pointing out to sea. A deep green aura began to surround him, bringing the darkness of his being to the surface. "And let this day be cursed by me, the one who readies the reawakening."

Steven, while casting another Fire spell at the _Dutchman_, suddenly felt a great disturbance. He couldn't explain why he had just felt it until he looked at his hand. To his surprise, it was shaded in dark energy. It faded after only a second, but he knew it was sending some sort of message. His first instinct told him to look towards the _Dutchman_ and what he saw was instant shock.

Sora, who had descended from the crow's nest, spotted the same thing from near the helm. Jones had just stolen Heartless from Mercer and ended his life with it. The one once kept in line by the Heartless was a natural master at commanding them. The green glow that surrounded his body now was a clear indication.

Steven dashed up to Sora, standing beside him as they both looked on in speechless shock. But it didn't remain speechless for long.

"He's got Heartless?" Steven asked.

"Uh-huh," Sora confirmed, even though both could clearly see it with their own eyes.

"Well..." Steven said slowly. "Crap."

Rumbling beneath the sea was apparent when even the maelstrom was afflicted with a noticeable ripple, one that slightly rocked both ships as it spread. More rumbling followed and the sea's surface began to swell with the approach of something massive. A great blackness was seen beneath the surface, getting bigger as the water swelled more. Then it seemed to burst upward like the eruption of a volcano. Giant black tendrils slowly spread across the surface and a circular maw, donned with rows of sharp teeth was revealed. Originally pink in the flesh, this monstrous presence was now blackened on its entire body, its tentacles spreading out in the water and a great roar escaping its maw.

Jones had summoned a large Heartless, one that had taken form when Beckett had forced creatures of darkness to assimilate with Jones' own monster, the Kraken.

When the roar ceased, many noises were heard. Gasps from the _Pearl_, cackles from the _Dutchman_, and further disturbances in the sea. But the cry of Steven was heard above that.

"OH CRAP!"


	24. Tides Turning

The atmosphere had changed quickly and drastically enough for Beckett's liking, even too much. The instant that the battle was to begin, a storm had suddenly picked up and formed a maelstrom in the center of the ocean, making the playing field a much more unstable place to be stationed. Still, at least the change that took place was manageable, for the time being.

The tides were turning a new direction and it wasn't just the roaring waters that were threatening Beckett's forces. Viewing the battle from a large, powerful telescope, he witnessed first-hand the death of Mercer at the hands of Jones and the Heartless. Now the Kraken-Heartless he had created as a last resort had becomes Jones' striking force.

"Orders, sir?"

Beckett lifted his face from the telescope and his generally apathetic gaze was replaced by a firm glare. "Jones has broken loose," he informed. "He has discovered a connection among the Heartless. Send three ships into battle to quell the _Dutchman_ and the Kraken."

He walked to the railing of his ship, looking out upon the battle. Even without a telescope, he could still vaguely imagine what was happening to everybody involved as he watched nonchalantly from the safety of his own ship. "How it must feel, Jones," he pondered. "To finally be among monsters just like yourself."

* * *

"Crap!" Steven held his head, pacing wildly back and forth on deck. "Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP!"

"Calm yourself, mate!" Pintel urged. He walked up to Steven and began shaking his spooked comrade.

Ragetti stood beside Steven and, for good measure, smacked him across the face. "You've got to get it together, mate!" he yelled above the roaring rain and water.

"They're right, Steven," Sora agreed. "I know it seems like we're dealing with a lot, but we can do this!"

"It's not that simple!" Steven shouted back in panic. "We're going up against something that beat us last time we fought it! Now it's stronger!"

"So are we!" Sora reminded. "And it may be stronger, but what's different about it now?"

"Well, let me think," Steven replied, though he immediately began a short tirade. "Now when this thing eats people, it coughs them up as Heartless! Because it IS one!" Sora held up a finger to silence Steven from talking further, then raised his eyebrow and smiled. It took a moment for Steven to understand the notion Sora was presenting, but it put a smile on his own face. "It's a Heartless...which means it's vulnerable to our Keyblades!" Without hesitation, he ran for the wheel of the ship. "Captain Barbossa!" he yelled. "We have a plan!"

"Oh, do ya now?" Barbossa gripped the wheel firmly, staring warily out at the Kraken.

"The Kraken is a Heartless now!" Sora shouted, having arrived a moment after Steven. "It's made itself weak to our attacks with the Keyblade!"

"Then what're you waiting for?" Barbossa barked.

Sora smiled slightly. "Orders, Captain?"

Barbossa did a double-take upon hearing Sora allowing him a gesture of respect. However, it wasn't long before his eyes flared and a nasty smile was shown on his face from the appreciation. "Orders, Masters Sora and Steven!" he yelled. "Free the seas from the clutches of that calamari once and for all!"

"Aye, sir!" Steven agreed. He and Sora rushed down the stairs, their feet tapping against each step on the way down. They stood in the center of the deck. "Back away, everyone!" he urged, holding his Keyblade tightly to his side. "When that thing hits, we're going to put its focus on us! You keep your attention of the _Dutchman_!"

"That ain't our only focus anymore!" Gibbs bellowed above the noise, pointing to the edge of the maelstrom. The _Dutchman_ had retreated to the south side, bordering the area where the other pirates were standing by. On the north end, a few ships of the East India Company were approaching.

Sora sighed in exasperation, holding up his Keyblade. "Maybe they can help us."

"Not likely!" Steven corrected. "Jones is on their side, remember?"

"Jones killed Mercer, didn't he?" Sora reminded. "He's free of being Beckett's slave. I don't think he's going to be very forgiving of that." He turned his eyes back to the sea to observe the British ships. "Come on..."

His glances went back and forth from the Kraken, which had them in its sights, to the British ships at the north end of the maelstrom. All three entered in the correct position needed to keep their momentum going with the giant whirlpool. They sailed at an angle, pointing their cannons downward. Then, virtually all at once, all three fired a set of cannons into the ocean near the center, where the monster was stationed.

Tentacles aplenty extended from the Kraken's body and a good portion of them were not spared from the firepowered assault. Even in its Heartless state, its tentacles singed with pain, as it had when it was attacked by the _Pearl_ once before. Its Heartless physique gave it extra layers of protection against the cannons, allowing it to recover at an alarming rate. It pulled its injured tentacles beneath the water, not even for a second, and then it pushed itself away from the _Black Pear_l. Without another hesitation, it pulled the tentacles back up from the water and spread them across the deck of one ship, the middle of the three East India vessels.

Swords were useless against the tentacles as the ship was quickly, painfully torn apart. One sweep and two dozen sailors were pushed overboard and met their fate. Most were taken into the swirling water and pushed beneath the surface, never to return. Others, however, were snatched up by smaller tentacles, yanked through the air, and dropped towards the Kraken's maw, where black tendrils courtesy of the Heartless would extend from the belly of the beast to pull them into the darkness of its body.

That was just the first sweep of the deck. The Kraken quickly got down to business and lifted a larger tentacle straight up in the air. Letting gravity do what it did best, the Kraken allowed the tentacle to fall upon the ship. The wood splintered into the twigs that it was made of. The mast was shattered and toppled towards the stern of the ship, smashing the steering wheel and reducing the deck to rubble. The sailors that weren't immediately flung overboard were yanked underneath the water once the current of the water became too much for the broken vessel to take.

A piece of tattered sail flew in the wind around the maelstrom, gliding across the deck of the _Pearl_ and caught quickly by Sora, who looked at the tattered piece of cloth before staring back out at the devastated crew that had met their ends at the tentacles of the monster that swam before them. He shoved the sail piece into his pocket. "I have an idea," he announced. "Let's go."

He motioned to Steven, who followed obediently behind him. They watched as they walked towards the stern to speak to Barbossa. The armada reacted to the loss of one of their ships with a higher retaliation, now sending five ships out to join the two that remained. "Take us alongside one of them!" Steven yelled over the chaos.

"The Kraken be the true enemy!" Barbossa reminded. "We can deal with them later!"

"But we might need their help!" Sora answered.

"Huh?" Steven blinked in confusion. "I thought we were going to maneuver their ships to take down the Kraken and just get the British along the way!"

"With their help, we can take the Kraken down!" Sora explained. "I'd recommend calling a truce! It'll be a lot safer to maneuver their ships if we're on the same side...at least for a little bit."

"And if parlay ain't an option to their liking?" Barbossa challenged.

Steven scanned the battlefield for a moment, observing the _Dutchman_. It had virtually abandoned the _Black Pearl_ and set its greater attention on staying away from the battle by camping near the edge of the maelstrom, simply watching the Kraken fight the battle. "Jones was a pawn of the British." He pointed out towards Jones' ship. "Now he's taking his revenge on them. I think they'll listen to us."

"Then make it so!" Barbossa replied, before he spun the wheel to the right. "Hard to starboard!" he bellowed. "Bring us alongside them and prepare our Keybearing ambassadors to board!"

The ship rode the current alongside an aramada ship that was just entering the maelstrom, the _Concordia_. A two ropes were lowered from the rigging to give the Keybearers a way to swing over. Sora summoned his Keyblade and pulled out the tattered piece of sail he had caught. He tied it to his Keyblade in a flag-like fashion and took hold of a rope with the other hand. Beside him, Steven took hold of the other rope with both hands. They stepped back a few feet and took a running start, leaping into the air. They had maneuvered just a level higher than the _Concordia_, so their angle was perfect. Sora and Steven swung a few feet above deck and let go at the peak of their ascension. The momentum and the height gave them enough force to fall directly towards the deck of the ship. They did just that, right in the center of the deck.

Instantly, the captain noticed them and pointed. "The Keybearers!" he pointed. "Shoot them!"

"Parlay!" Sora yelled, holding up his Keyblade, showing the white flag he had improvised in making.

"Or truce," Steven added. "If you hate pirates too much to use 'parlay'."

The captain of the ship, a tall soldier in a light-blue naval jacket and a white wig, stepped forward to speak to them. "Truce? In the middle of such a battle? What could possibly constitute a truce between the company and you pirates?" he spat with malice at the two boys.

"Because look at Jones!" Steven urged, pointing out there. "The _Pearl_ is sailing, but he's not turning a single glance to it."

"Jones is angrier at the company than he is at us," Sora added to strengthen their negotiation. "If anybody is going down first, it's the company. But we can help you take down the Kraken. Just let us have a truce. If me and my friend can maneuver your ships, we can help take down the Kraken on the way to Jones. Then we'll take care of him as well."

"After he's out of the picture and the Heartless back off, we can go back to killing each other instead," Steven finished. "Savvy? Or...deal?"

The captain viewed the chaos unfurling, seeing yet another ship being attack. Then he held out his hand for Sora to shake. "Deal. But only as long as Jones' ship is afloat."

Sora shook his hand, nodding. "I don't go back on my deals. I'll get to Jones and I'll take him down." Without further ado, the captain ordered his sailors to signal to the other armada ships about the temporary truce with the pirates and orders to keep firing at the _Flying Dutchma_n. Four of the Kraken's smaller tentacles rose above the water, aiming themselves at the ship's deck. Steven and Sora summoned their Keyblades and readied for the assault

* * *

Returning triumphant from the brig, Jack wound his way through the ship to make his way to the deck. He now had the chest, so he now held a good amount of leverage over Jones. However, his casually walk of triumph took him to the railing and what he saw over the edge stopped him in his tracks. The beast that he had stared in the face, the beast he had welcomed to kill him, had returned once again...only now, it had the stink of darkness about it.

"Oh bugger." Jack turned around, but flinched again. "Double bugger."

Jones turned away from the railing, having been directing the Kraken with his will, but now freeing his thoughts from his beast's rampage and stepping downstairs to the deck. Flocking nearby was the hammer-head sailor, the puffer-fish sailor, and the sailor with coral for a face. Once the captain stood on deck, their attention was freed and they were able to spot Jack before them.

"Aha!" Jones cackled. "Lookie here, boys! A lost sparrow! A lost sparrow that never learned to fly!" Jones sounded off the last syllable by drawing his sword, preparing to fight.

Jack backed away steadily, holding the chest tightly in his right hand. "To my great regret," he lamented briefly. "But!" He stepped up to an opening in the railing where the plank would be. "We learn something new every day, don't we?" He took hold of one of the ropes attached to the sail and swung the chest at the place where it was tied down. The simple knot became unraveled and Jack was pull upward, swinging through the air. "Aaaaaaaah!" He managed to get footing on one of the beams that supported the sail, struggling a moment to get his balance, but grabbing onto a steady rope attached to the reel that helped control the sails.

He sighed in satisfaction, but he flinched when he turned yet again to see Jones actually flying through the air, followed by a stream of dark energy, and coming to a slow descent on the same beam, only about ten feet away.

"The chest, Sparrow!" Jones spat at him. "Hand it over!"

Jack shifted the chest to his left hand and drew his sword, prepared to defend himself. "The Heartless are a bad batch to be chummy with, mate!" Jack warned. "I can set you free!"

"My freedom was forfeit years ago!" Jones growled back. He cried out and lifted his sword, swinging at Jack. His adversary lifted the sword horizontally to block it, trying to keep holding onto the rope. Both of them had precarious balance on this beam as it is, though Jack imagined a peg leg would be slowing Jones down even more. He used his block to push Jones' sword aside and swing at the his leg, but his sword was pushed upward and out of the way as well. The battle between him and Jones progressed with many parries and blows. Jack truly only had a bit of hope to go on. He had the chest, but unless he got some backup soon, his trip to the locker this time around might be more permanent.

* * *

After having left Steven and Sora to deal with the Kraken aboard the East India ships, the _Black Pearl_ set its course around the beast, which had begun to swim towards the ships on the north embankment of the maelstrom. The area close to the center had become available battleground and the _Dutchman_ had also taken its course there. Once the two were board-to-board again, their cannons began to set alight. In such close ground, further crippling of the enemy was needed.

Ropes were dropped from the overhangings and various members of each crew took hold. Each ship was slanted enough to provide good enough propulsion when each one jumped off, swinging towards the opposite deck. Opposition was made in the middle with sword. Three pirates were cut down by the weapons of the creature-sailors and three of the _Dutchman_'s crew were also sent to the sea.

Will fired a pistol at an incoming foe, snapping the sailor's grip from the rope and sending him into the sea as well. Then he drew his sword in preparation for the oncoming fight.

Nobody was without an opponent. Barbossa, being at the helm, was an important target. He held his sword while standing in front of the wheel. The puffer-fish sailor stabbed at him, but he side-stepped, sending the blade through one of the gaps in the wheel's structure. Barbossa took hold of the wheel and quickly spun it, yanking the sword from the sailor's hand. His foe was disarmed, then swiftly punched in the face.

Pintel and Ragetti faced a sailor together on the main deck. They faced a sailor who held two swords and dreadlocks made of seaweed hanging from his head. He advanced at Pintel, striking with one sword, then the other. Pintel pushed the first sword aside and ducked before the second one could come at him. Then the sailor turned and chopped down at Ragetti. Due to his slender arms, Ragetti was able to hold his sword horizontally up high, keeping the swords at bay. During this time, he leaned in to make close eye contact with the sailor. While staring at each other, Ragetti lifted his eye patch to show his empty eye socket. The sailor made a growling cry of disgust. As he stepped away, Pintel stabbed the sailor's back, injuring him enough to give Ragetti a chance to stab him from the front. They tugged their swords free and let his body fall.

"Warn me next time," Pintel said, shuddering. "A sick sight if I ever saw one."

Closer to the stern end, by the mast, Will pushed aside one of his opponents. "Elizabeth!" he called out. Elizabeth rushed to his aid. Will blocked another slice from his opponent, then dodged another. The sword made contact with the mast, which made the sword twang a bit. The sailor turned to retaliate again and was met with two swords to the gut from the couple. "Elizabeth!" Will pulled her by the arm towards him, looking her in the eyes. "Will you marry me?"

The ending of his proposal was left on a cliffhanger when a sailor with a conch-shell for a head charged. They stepped away from the strike and swung their swords to hold their foe's weapon down. "I don't think now's the best time!" Elizabeth cried frantically.

They swung upward and the sailor leaned back, pulling his weapon away and retreating to a different battle. Will spun away from Elizabeth to slice another sea-creature in the gut. "Now may be the _only_ time!" he urged. He ducked behind the mast. Elizabeth blocked a strike, then grabbed her attacker's arm and flipped him over onto his back. She stabbed him in the chest quickly, then rejoined Will. "I love you Elizabeth, and I've made my choice. What's yours?"

Elizabeth stared into the eyes of her lover and the passion she saw in his eyes was the same passion welling up inside of her own. Even in the midst of battle, Will triumphed in showing devotion to her. Now to marry, they needed someone authorized to perform such a ceremony. In this case, it would be most convenient to use the captain of a ship.

"Barbossa!" she called up to the wheel. "Marry us!"

Barbossa kicked a sailor away and grimaced at the two. "I'm a little busy at the moment!" he snarled. He was not slow in returning to battle and neither were Elizabeth and Will. In a rush, they beat off their offending foes, if only to temporarily incapacitate them.

"Barbossa, now!" Will urged. "There isn't much time!"

Barbossa was trapped between two sailors. He leaned back to force the sword of the right-hand attacker to pierce the chest of the sailor on his left, then stabbed the original attacker with his own sword. "Alright, alright!" he bellowed, climbing onto a podium in front of the wheel. He kicked aside another sailor and stood up, placing a hand over his heart. "Oh, dearly beloved, we be gathered here today-" He turned to engage in a brief duel with one of Jones' men. "-to tie your innards to the mast, you popsy cur!" He cut the sailor across the face and kicked him to the deck.

Seeing no easy alternative, Will and Elizabeth separated momentarily to push aside any resistance before clasping hands. "Elizabeth Swann, do you take me to be your husband?" Will asked.

Elizabeth nodded ecstatically. "I do!"

Will smiled. "Great!"

"And Will Turner!" Elizabeth returned. "Do you take me to be your wife-" They turned to duel with two of Jones' advancing men. They used strong, forceful strikes to push them away and Will stabbed his foe immediately. "-in sickness and in health-" Elizabeth held her sword up to block a chop from the other sailor while Will reached underneath and shoved his sword into his stomach. "-with health being the less likely?" Elizabeth finally finished.

Will yanked his sword from the body and the couple clasped hands again. "I do!"

Barbossa, watching over, swung his sword back and forth to each side of him to fend off various strikes from two enemies. "As Captain, I now pronounce you-" He broke sentence briefly to kick one of his enemies over the railing. "You may kiss-" He interrupted himself again to shoot an oncoming sailor in the face. "You may kiss-" He was cut off again when he had to hop off the podium to avoid a swipe at his legs. Below, on deck, Elizabeth and Will had pushed away the last adversary, now having killed enough to leave each crew member to occupy themselves with the rest.

Barbossa pulled his sword back and made a wide, violent swipe at two more of the sea-sailors, knocking them to the floor. "Forget it!" he bellowed at Will and Elizabeth. "Just kiss already!"

The couple used their free arms to hug each other around the torso and then leaned into each other. Their lips met and the battle around them seemed to merely ignore them, slowing down time as they kissed. They were tied in the bond of marriage, a bond they knew would last from this moment until the day they died.

* * *

Miniature explosions of darkness erupted from the tentacles of the Kraken each time it was struck, but the biggest ones arose from being attacked by the Keyblade of either Steven or Sora. Despite its general intent to snatch up sailors and destroy the ship, the Kraken was part-Heartless now, giving it a wariness of the Keyblade that kept the tentacles aimed at Sora and Steven. Their theory that had been correct; the Heartless part of the Kraken made it susceptible to their attacks. Two tentacles lingered on deck and went mano-a-mano with each Keybearer.

"Thunder!" Steven cast the spell as he cut at the tentacle again. It traveled up the length of the tentacle and trailed back to the Kraken's body, causing it to jolt. That tentacle shuddered violently before it came to a rest. Without the strength to keep it on deck, the tentacle slid over the rail and back into the water.

Sora was relentlessly chopping at the next tentacle. He focused on finding the part of the Kraken that had mutated to the form of Heartless the most and resorted to attacking those spots. He backed away from the approaching tentacle and ran past it towards the railing. The tentacle took the bait and curved around to follow him. Resting on the railing was a very black area of the Kraken's flesh. Sora lifted his Keyblade high and pounded against that area, four times in quick succession. It flinched heavier as he continued striking. He ceased for a second, then pounded especially hard on the area, chopping that tentacle off.

They looked to the captain of the _Concordia_, who nodded to them in approval. "Get them to the _Amity_!" he ordered. "Hard to starboard!"

The _Amity_ was further down the line of ships and the Kraken had immediately taken to target the ones further away from the _Concordia_. The attacks from the Keybearers had apparently struck enough fear in the Kraken to make it retreat, but enough anger to bring its larger tentacles out from the water, lifting above the Amity with dozens of screaming company sailors to face it.

The devastation that followed was unparalleled by very few things Sora had seen in his life during the past couple of years.

One by one, the Kraken's largest tentacles lifted from the water. All at once, it let each of them fall on a different ship. It didn't need to slam into the ships with any kind of force. It just allowed its appendages to fall in the precise middle of the three ships that had ventured out. The power of gravity combined with the Kraken's tentacles saw to it that each ship was split right down the middle. Sailors not crushed beneath that tentacle were flung to the split area or overboard to be swept away by the massive whirlpool.

"Our ships!" the captain bellowed. He turned to his sailors. "Train your weapons on them!" He shifted his pointer finger towards the two Keybearers.

"What?" Sora gasped. "But we had a deal!"

"Thanks to our 'deal', three of our ships and dozens of men have died!" the captain raged. "My ship and my men may be next, but I will be sure to take you down with us!" The British aboard the ship pointed their weapons at the Keybearers, who both held their Keyblades defensively. "Aim!" the captain ordered. "And..."

The soldiers waited patiently for the order to fire, as did the Keybearers so they could mount a defense. However, the captain held a petrified gaze on a spot far above the ship. His rant had robbed him of the time that could've been spent giving the death sentence to Sora and Steven right away.

But now the Kraken had raised multiple tentacles upon the ship where its primary enemy's resided. It allowed the largest one to fall upon the middle of the ship. Sora and Steven quickly split to each side to avoid being crushed. Sora grabbed the stair railing while Steven held onto the railing on the side of the ship. Their legs were uplifted from the impact, but they remained firmly secured to the ship. However, the Kraken had planned a special demise for the foes that held its weakness.

Two smaller tentacles creeped over the railing and wound around their waists, making a sharp tug and lifting them from the ship. While the _Concordia_ was being tossed in pieces throughout the water, the Keybearers were both lifted high above the Kraken. From the dozens of feet of air between them and the water, they could see the beast surfacing and opening its giant maw, preparing to drop its next meal in from a great height.

"Any bright ideas?" Steven called over to Sora above the pouring rain and blistering wind. He looked over to Sora, who already had his Keyblade out. Steven thought a moment, then remembered a bright idea he had once used to fight the Kraken. With a smile, he summoned his own.

"We have to get closer to it for a clear shot!" Sora warned.

"I don't think that's a problem!" Steven bellowed. "We're about to get a lot-" The Kraken's tentacles released the two Keybearers from a height of over thirty feet. "AAAH!" Steven screamed on the way down, but he held his Keyblade tight, pointing it straight down.

Sora held his own weapon, pointing it at the Kraken. "Wait!" He felt the wind and rain drench him, but he kept his eyes narrowed on the target. The Kraken opened its maw wide, preparing to engulf both boys. "THUNDER!" Sora yelled. A stream of lighting erupted from the Keyblade and made its way directly at the center of the maw.

"THUNDER!" Steven copied, pointing his at the Kraken's body. Sora's spell struck deep inside, bypassing the teeth and reaching the belly of the beast. The electricity conducting within the Kraken's body began to make it squirm violently. Shortly after, Steven's spell zapped the outer body, extending around the center of the whirlpool in the area where the Kraken resided. The entire body of the Kraken, inside and out, was being electrocuted. The Heartless assimilated with the sea monster were being torn to shreds, completely helpless to the Keyblade's power. The bolts of streaming lightning kept the Keybearers floating from the magnetism they were created with all this electricity in the air. The beast trembled wildly for several seconds, its tentacles flailing wildly above the water.

Then it was silent and still. The blackness tracing around the Kraken's body began to fade in very large whisps before being dispelled by the wind. The Keybearers, having cut off their flow of electricity, dropped the remaining distance to land beside its maw. They stood atop the largest of the tentacles, looking down in the cavernous gap that was its mouth.

Sora smiled. "Well, we did it," he informed, patting Steven's shoulder good job.

Steven exhaled deeply. "Wow..." He rubbed his eyes briefly and looked down at it again. "That was kind of awesome...and look!" He broke into a smile and turned away. He pointed out the length of the tentacle they stood upon. "We built a bridge back to the _Pearl_!"

"Alright!" Sora pumped his fist in the air, then began to run down the giant, slimy appendage. "Let's get back to the battle before it sinks!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Steven assured, following his friend in a rush. The tentacle bobbed up and down gently, but did not sink as they traversed it. When they neared the side of the ship, they increased their running speed tremendously and jumped. Sora managed to land just beyond the railing while Steven had to grip the railing itself and climb back aboard. While climbing back on, he rolled his eyes. "Are you serious?"

The dark flashes in the air dawned in the appearance of several Heartless. Sky Soliders, primarily, but they were different. Instead of colorful wings and bright yellow eyes, their eyes were faded and their bodies were partially composed of the seaweed and shells that created Jones' sailors as well.

"Just when we get done with the big one..." Steven hopped onto the deck. "Jones must've liquidated whatever British sailors were aboard his ship in order to get all these."

"Guys!" Will stood at the opposite railing, holding a rope. He pointed directly at them. "Mind handling things here for a bit?" He hopped off the railing and soared towards the _Dutchman_, holding the rope.

"Uh...sure!" Sora called back, even though Will had already departed. He glanced over at Steven with a smile. "Ready to jump back in?"

Steven shrugged. "Eh...I suppose I've got nothing else planned today." He smirked and, simultaneous with Sora, summoned his Keyblade once again.. "Bring 'em on!"

* * *

Atop the beams, the duel between Jack Sparrow and and Davy Jones came to a brief halt. Jones had put Jack off-balance for a moment with a lunge. But before he could knock the pirate captain away, he felt a stab inside of his body. "Raaah!" He ducked lower, wincing. There was no physical object piercing him, but the pain still throbbed within him. He narrowed his eyes to look out upon the sea, where the Kraken now lay still.

"Keybearers!" he bellowed. "You will pay for this!" Jack, wobbly as ever, managed to regain his balance and held out his sword to block Jones' blind strike of rage. "Those children may have defeated my beast!" Jones snarled. "But you will not defeat me without the key!"

"I already know the key!" Jack taunted back.

Jones smirked, reaching into his coat with his tentacle beard to pull out the key in question. "But you don't have it, Sparrow, do you?"

"Oh, _that_ key," Jack deadpanned. He pushed Jone's sword away and sliced at the beard, drawing another cry of pain from Jones as the tentacle, gripping the key, fell towards the deck of his ship.

Jones swung again, but Jack caught the strike and twisted it away, sending Jones' sword down to the deck as well. Triumphant again, Jack managed a third blow. He did a backswing with the chest across the enemy captain's face. He swung from above with his sword, but Jones caught the blade with his clawed hand, gritting his teeth as he squeezed. Like a stick, Jones snapped the blade off with little effort.

Jack only had a moment to lament at what was left of his sword's blade before he felt a tremor between the two ships. They had circled very close to the center of the maelestrom and the _Black Pearl_'s crew was occupied with more of Jones' men, not to mention the Heartless. The primary mast had tilted over and gotten tangled in the upper rigging of the _Flying Dutchman_. They were now sailing in a circle, both ships bound to each other.

The tremor of the collision caused Jack to fully lose his balance and slip off the beam. Jones dropped to his stomach and frantically grabbed the chest. He believed Jack to have fallen, so he lifted the chest up towards himself, disappointed when he saw the captain still hanging on, bringing a scowl to the irritated pirate. Jones let his arm droop, then pulled it upward in a swing that propelled Jack into the air. He got back to his foot and peg leg, beaming with success.

Jack's flight path took him to a rope, a rope already being used by a member of the _Dutchman_'s crew to navigate the ship. The sailor grimaced at Jack, but Jack nonchalantly tugged the sailor's gun away from his waist. "Oi!" Jack reprimanded. "My pistol!" He used the handle to conk the sailor in the forehead, making him lose his grip and sending him to the sea below. With more room, Jack got a better grip on the rope and let it swing around again, targeting Jones. Jack allowed himself to come into Jones' sight so he could see the shocked face on his adversary right before he pulled the trigger.

The lead bullet struck the tentacled hand, forcing Jones to drop yet another possession of his to the deck of his ship. With a growl, Jones raised his claw. The aura of darkness surrounded him once again and a group of Sky Soldier Heartless, albeit deformed in the same manner as Jones' crew, appeared at his shoulders. Gripping them tightly, the Heartless aided Jones in a jump off the beam, gliding forward before circling back towards the deck, where they dropped Jones from a safe distance. Jones stormed forward a few steps and picked up his sword.

Jack, meanwhile, dropped lower and lower on the rope until he was able to tilt his weight in the proper direction. He swung down and looped the rope over the stern, swinging back in the general direction of the deck before he let go. He landed on his feet...right before Jones.

With a smile, Jack drew his sword...only to be reminded of how little was left of it. He backed away while Jones marched for him. Jones followed Jack around the wheel that was previously used to summon the late Kraken. A chase ensued, with Jones relentlessly pursuing Jack.

* * *

Will landed aboard the _Dutchman_, having witnessed the battle between Jack and Jones. The Heartless were now aboard the _Pearl_, a situation that was in the hands of Sora and Steven now. He wasted no more chances in trying to find the chest, immediately targeting the fallen object and picking it up. He ran up the stairs, dodging the spots where cannon fire was slamming against the ship. He got up to a small walkway and spotted the hammer-head sailor, who smirked at his presence.

"Turner!" he cackled. He swung his axe at Will, who held the chest in front of him with both hands to veer off the chop aimed at him. He ducked a horizontal swing from the axe right before the hammer-head's face was smothered with that of a burning monkey that had just been fired from the cannon. The hammer-head sailor wailed about, dropping the axe and tripping over the rope that separated the bridge from a fall to the deck. His fall broke the rope and left him with no safety from plummeting down to the ship's floor.

Will exhaled in relief. "Thank you, Jack," he muttered in thanks. He ran to the aft section of the ship. Once he reached the stern, he was met with a swift backhand to the face, followed quickly by a second one that sent him into the air a few inches before he landed on the deck, the chest flying from his hands and into the corner of the ship.

Will got up and quickly drew his sword to defend another strike. But his strength and skill seemed to falter when he saw that he recognized the face holding the weapon that fought against him: that of his own father. "What are you doing?" He hopped back from the sword that Bootstrap swung at him, then blocked another. He was forced into the railing by a push. Will locked their swords. "Stop!" he pleaded. "It's me, Will! Your son!"

Bootstrap hesitated a moment, lifting an open hand as if to stroke his son's head. Will's attempt at reason failed, however, as the hand fiercely grabbed at Will's hair. Bootstrap pulled Will away from the railing and shoved him to the deck.

* * *

Jack's escape from Jones was, to put it lightly, taking a turn for the worse. Jones had followed him all around the ship relentlessly. It wasn't until Jack reached, for a second time, the wheel that was once turned to summon the Kraken that he pulled a move to fight back. He tugged one of the large logs from its slot and batted the sword's blade from striking him. He pulled away from another one and struck Jones in the face, a favored spot for Jack to hit. He adjusted his grip and swung with a greater force. This time, Jones caught it in his claw and yanked it from Jack's grip before treating him to backhanded slap that dropped him to the deck.

Before advancing on Jack, Jones took notice of a rope approaching his ship unhindered. The occupant of the rope was Elizabeth, who touched down on deck moments later. Her mouth hung agape when she saw the being she faced, but she held her ground.

Jones' face grimaced at her presence. "Harridan!" he taunted. "You will see no mercy from me!"

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "Then it's a good thing I brought this!" she replied, drawing her sword. She swung at at Jones' sword and pushed it towards the deck. Jones pushed back, then swung at her mid-section. Elizabeth arched her back to avoid a cut that would have have struck her stomach otherwise. She ducked another strike and blocked the next one, rising up to push back against Jones.

Laying down on the sidelines, Jack opened up his eyes and had barely started to push himself off the floor when, crawling a few feet from his face, the tentacle holding the key Jones' chest was miserably pulling itself across the deck of the ship. Jack smirked as he slammed his hand down upon it. He hopped to his feet and carried the tentacle towards the stern. He had seen the chest over there somewhere...

Will had finally taken initiative against his father. The man had been blinded by his bond to the _Dutchman_, so he wasn't going to listen. Will held back only fatal strikes, exerting more force to fight against Bootstrap. After managing a sword lock, Will grabbed the wrist of his father and pulled it down to the railing. He pounded the sword of his opponent, making it fall from his hand, then quickly placed the sword at his father's neck.

He was alerted to other happenings when he heard a battle grunt, a female one. He whirled his head to see Elizabeth facing off against Jones. Her body was beginning to grow weary of battle and she was defenseless against a simple shove that put her at the base of the stairs. He reached to his belt, pulling his dagger on the man who had given that very blade to him. "I'm not going to kill you!" Will assured. "I made you a promise!" He left Bootstrap dumbstruck with those words and planted the tip of the dagger into the moss growing on the ship. He prepared his sword as he snuck up behind Jones, who advanced on Elizabeth, and forced his sword through the sea captain's back. While the physical pain was there, explicitly known through Jones' cry of pain, it did not defer him any further than that.

"Missed," Jones said with a smirk. "Or have you forgotten?" He clasped the blade with his claw. "I'm a heartless wretch!" He bent the upper part of Will's sword that protruded from his chest. Will yanked at the sword, but the bent portion collided with Jones, who responded by whirling around. Will lost his grip on the sword and injury was added to this insult when Jones kicked him in the side of the head, toppling him to the deck once more.

Once again, Jones advanced on his fallen adversary. This time, Will wasn't focusing on Jones. His eyes couldn't leave Elizabeth, who was also staring frantically at her defeated fiance. Jones caught wind of that, turning back and forth so he could adequately see. "Aha...love," he muttered. "A dreadfully tight bond, yet...so easily severed." He placed the tip of his sword in front of Will's face. "Tell me, William Turner, do you fear death?"

"Do you?"

Jones hadn't heard that voice for a few minutes now. Hearing it again, especially with the owner of that voice delivering such a message. He stepped away from Will and looked over his shoulder. Jack Sparrow stood before him, holding Jones' own heart in the palm of one hand and his demolished sword in the other, pointing at the slippery organ. Only a few feet behind Jack laid the chest, sitting on its side with the lid wide open.

* * *

**A/N: Super sorry it took this long. I hope the two chapter's worth of content is enough to tide you over.**


	25. The Seas Be Ours

"An interesting conundrum, holding life and death in the palm of one's hand," Jack quipped with a smile. Will and Elizabeth gazed up at Jack with hopefulness in their eyes, then resumed staring at each other with smiles on their faces.

Jones growled, summoning one of his personally modeled Sky Soldier Heartless to charge Jack. It appeared instantly and flew like a torpedo. However, it was knocked off-course by a blast of ice that spun it out of control and barreling overboard, not to mention one that made Jack jump in surprise, though he kept his grip upon the broken sword and the heart.

Jones' eyes began to bug out of his head and he growled loudly when he spotted Sora at the top of the stairs, still aiming his Keyblade at the spot where the Heartless had just been. He made eye contact with Jones, staring seriously, but triumphantly.

"Sorry we're late!" Steven walked up the stairs just behind Sora, panting a little from exhaustion. He nodded to the _Dutchman_'s resident octopus-man. "I have to hand it to you, Captain Jones. Making the Heartless your own made them slightly less stupid than the usual variety we put up with." He chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, though. They are still pretty darn stupid."

"You are a cruel man, Jack Sparrow!" Jones snapped at Jack.

"Cruel is a matter of perspective," Jack replied, smirking. He now held all the cards. The key to controlling Jones was in the palm of his hand. The captain had no tricks left.

This was a false perception on Jack's parts.

"Is it?" Jones challenged. "Then tell me what you perceive of THIS!" He spun around and thrust his sword downward and into Will's chest. Will gasped loudly when it stuck into him.

Elizabeth lost all breath for a moment, watching in horror as Jones twisted the blade he held in her fiance's chest to the left, slowly, and ended with a sharp twist to the right before he left the wobbling sword sitting there. Jack's eyes widened on a larger proportion. Even though he thought he carried all the cards, he had not anticipated any resistance from Jones. Now that there had been that, Jack was in too much shock to even move his arms from the position they held. All the while, Jones cackled sinisterly. A severely crippling blow to their morale had just been dealt and he now held the upper hand.

Sora had reached out when he saw Jones make his move, as had Steven, but Sora stopped in his tracks. "Will!" he cried out. He rushed past Jones to his friend's side, where Elizabeth had already taken a spot. "This can't be...No!"

"Will, stay with me!" Elizabeth cried. "Please, stay with me!" But the life in Will's eyes was fading fast and he could barely manage to keep them open. "You can't leave us, Will! Please!" Elizabeth held his face, trying to get him to snap out of it.

Steven looked on the scene with a greater shock. He pinched the bridge of his nose and around his eyes, wiping the tears from them very quickly. His eyes were still spread open as he quickly joined Sora and Elizabeth at Will's side. "Pull through, Will! Come on!" he begged. He could barely comprehend that it was happening before his eyes. Will, in his eyes, had been the strongest among their allies. His death was inconceivable to him, even as it took place.

Bootstrap, meanwhile, looked onward from where he had been laying. He could see Jack holding the heart, the hand that held the knife still wavering in his grip. Elizabeth, his son's fiance, was kneeling over the body of Will himself. His eyes widened when his blind devotion to a ship was torn away and his essence returned to him. "William..." he gasped softly. "My son..." He stood to his feet. "My SON!" he bellowed, charging across the deck of the stern. Jones had gotten to his feet, but Bootstrap charged at his captain and slammed him with a fist in the back of the head. Jones spun out a bit and hit the railing. Bootstrap didn't let up, slamming into Jones again.

Jones was caught off-guard by retaliation from Bootstrap, but he quickly pushed back at his crewman and shuffled to his right to pick up a sword. He turned back to catch Bootstrap with both his tentacled hand and claw hand, spinning him around once and then pushing him up against the railing. "You have been a trouble to me for too long!" Jones snarled. "No one shall forestall my judgement!" He lifted the sword in preparation to strike. "Like son, like father!"

But as his arm came down, he dropped the sword. His whole body began to tremble violently, especially his tentacled beard. Despite his spasms, he forced his eyes back to the scene of Will's body. Clutched in the hand of the man who barely clung to life was the remains of Jack's sword, stabbing into the heart. Jack knelt beside his fallen comrade, as did Elizabeth, Sora, and Steven.

This was the end for Jones and he had no way of denying that. His face went solemn as his eyes turned upward to the swirling stormy sky. Before his last breath would escape him, he uttered the name of the only thing in his life that had ever mattered.

"Calypso..."

Davy Jones, the once-proud captain of the _Flying Dutchman_, toppled over the railing. His hat blew from his head and fell towards the center of the swirling abyss that lay beneath them. Once his body hit the water, he was no more. His body would wind up in the pits of his former domain, the ocean.

Barbossa turned the wheel of the _Black Pearl_ away from the tilted ship they were tied to, but to no avail. "She's taking us down!" he yelled. "Do something or it'll be the Locker for us all!"

Ragetti and Pintel wheeled a cannon away from the starboard side of the ship and set it beside the mast. They stuffed a double cannon ball, connected by a chain, inside of it before they pointed it upward. Without another hesitation, the fuse was lit and the dual projecticle was fired towards the tops of the two ships. It struck in between them, breaking the bind that had been formed. Barbossa quickly spun the wheel in the opposite direction, allowing the _Pearl_ to slowly ascend from the whirling waters of the maelstrom and begin its escape.

Will's body had continued to tremble in its last moments, but the life had now left his body slumped against the wall of the ship. Elizabeth shook him a little bit, trying to keep him with her, but he would no longer respond. "No...no! Will, no! Come back!" she shrieked.

Jack glanced over his shoulder nervously. A chant had arisen. The crew of the _Dutchman_ was advancing towards them in a monotonous march. They repeated the same words, over and over. "Part of the crew, part of the ship. Part of the crew, part of the ship."

Jack couldn't allow Elizabeth to grieve any longer. The ship was going down and they would go with it if they stayed longer. He gripped Elizabeth's shoulders and pulled her up. She struggled against him, but he didn't let go. Sora and Steven quickly heeded his example and followed him. He picked up a fallen gun and pulled the line of a smaller sail from one of its two posts. "Hold on!" he urged. Then he shot the knot at the second posted. The fierce winds caught the sail and pulled them into the air and away from the ship.

Sora and Steven each took one of their own, holding tightly. "Steven!" Sora called, getting his friend's attention. "You going to be okay?"

Steven made eye contact with Sora, then took another look back at the crowd of _Dutchman_ sailors surrounding Will. "I think so..." he replied. "I know this all stinks, but...I have a feeling it'll all turn out for the best."

Sora nodded. "It will," he promised. "I'm not going to let him die in vain." He pointed his Keyblade at the sail's harness. "Fire!" The burst of flame freed Sora's makeshift parachute and he flew off as well. Steven summoned his Keyblade too, but he was stopped by a loud squeak.

"Huh?" He looked to his feet in time to see Jack the monkey bound over to them. The creature hopped up and took hold of Steven's arm, clasping it tightly. "Close call, Jack," he said. His tone was solemn, though he was trying to sound happier. "I wouldn't want to leave you, would I?" With a smile, he cast his own spell of Fire at the harness and sent himself into a flight propelled by the violent winds of the maelstrom.

Heading the crowd of sailors left aboard the _Dutchman_ was Bootstrap, holding the dagger he had given to his Will. He knelt at the boy's side, sighing in regret. "You slaid Jones, Will," he whispered. "The _Dutchman_ must have a captain." He raised his arm to plunge the dagger into his dead son.

* * *

There were four people and one monkey that were able to witness the dying maelstrom more closely than any others. As they all floated away on sail fragments, the _Dutchman_ was left at the center to tip over onto its side. It submerged slowly into the water and expelled a geyser-like burst of the ocean above it. Then the ocean began to calm again. The swirling clouds became normal and started to disperse. The once stormy environment that had housed the battle was gave way to sunlight once again. The sun beat down on the world again, giving at least a fraction of the sunny tropics that had been there prior to Calypso's release.

Upon the _Endeavor_, Beckett had been keeping a keen, close eye upon the battle. He was trembling gently in anger. However, a temper like his only amounted to light trembling in his hands. His face remained calm and collected, but he was burning up inside. "Impossible." He rose from his seat and forced himself to stare at the rest of the armada. One by one, he could see dozens of ships turning tail and abandoning the battle. No doubt they had all witnessed what he had seen as well. "That we could have such a grand armada that would turn tail at the sign of trouble is blasphemous!"

"If I may, my Lord?" The lieutenant of the ship stood upright beside Beckett. "I refuse to leave your side in this battle. But I can hardly see how one would choose not to run from such a force." He gestured out towards the pirate ships, namely the _Black Pearl_. "We started this battle with an armada, the _Flying Dutchman_, the Kraken and the Heartless at our command. The Heartless were robbed from us by Jones, the Kraken was taken by the Keybearers, the _Dutchman_ was taken by the maelstrom when its captain was vanquished. Should you really find yourself surprised that fear of such a force has plagued our sailors with fear?"

Beckett glared at the leiutenant silently, causing the man to shuffle away quickly. Beckett knew he was right, however. Who could blame the men? All of their most powerful forces had been exhausted in a brief battle. The strongest of them all had even been vanquished by two teenagers. Three armada ships had been lost in the chaos and the dozens that had turned to flee were doing so in fear that they would be next.

"Lieutenant!" Beckett called. "Ready the _Endeavor_. We are going to destroy the _Black Pearl_." The lieutenant opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it after a couple of seconds. He stood upright and saluted Beckett before turning around.

"Let loose the sails!" he ordered. "We will carry out an assault of the _Black Pearl_ immediately!"

* * *

The _Black Pearl_ caught sight of their parachuting allies and moved the ship accordingly to pick them up. Sora, Steven, and Jack the monkey were the first to board. Sora's hair remained spiky as ever while Steven had to shake his small mop of hair to get some of the water out. Elizabeth was the next to reboard the ship, followed by Jack Sparrow.

"Thank goodness you're all here!" Gibbs praised, stepping to Jack. "Now Jack, we need a new plan. Much of the armada is still out there, the _Endeavor_ is making haste into attack position, and I think the proper response would be to call on the noblest of our pirate traditions!"

"You want us to run?" Steven shook his head. "Gibbs, we have them by the ropes. More than half the armada turned tail after they saw what we did. You think they want that happening to them?"

"He's got a point," Jack agreed. "And to be honest, I've never truly been one for tradition." He smiled and made way to the wheel of the ship. "Close haul the _Pearl_! Luff the sails and lay her in irons!"

"Belay that!" Barbossa countered. "We'll be a sitting duck!"

"Belay that 'belay that'!" Jack returned. They tried to protest again, but Jack wouldn't have it. "Belay! Belay! Just...shut it!" he argued.

Across the water, the lieutenant was looking through a telescope, watching as their enemy stayed, exactly where it was. "What is he waiting for?"

"He expects us to honor the agreement," Beckett answered. "Jack brought me the pirates. With the armada, I can wipe them out. But he did expect to sail from here with his precious _Pearl_ in one piece."

The flaps on either side of the _Endeavor_ opened up, revealing dozens of cannons. One side of the ship sported more cannons than the _Pearl_ had on its entire ship. It began to advance towards the _Pearl_'s startboard side.

"Nothing personal, Jack," Beckett assured, more to himself. "It's just good business."

An even larger geyser of water exploded from the sea. It was well-concealed for a few seconds, among the pouring water and debris falling into the ocean, but the shape of an all-too familiar ship made itself clear. The crocodile mouth at the bow of the ship and various carvings on the side painted a vivid picture of the _Flying Dutchman_.

"Ah, look." Beckett pointed. "She survived."

The _Dutchman_ had resurfaced, but it was not the same ship. It had been stripped of its former demeanor defined by moss, seaweed, clams, and sea creatures in general. The plant life had been torn from it and the weedy boards had been ripped away. Even the sailors aboard the ship gazed with ecstatic relief at their skin, visible to them for the first time in many years.

Bootstrap unstuck the starfish that had attached itself to his face and glanced to the stern with a smile. He was not surprised at all that his had happened. Just like the _Dutchman_ always needed a captain, the world was always in need of the _Dutchman_. There had to be a ship to allow said captain to ferry souls lost at sea into the next world.

Will Turner was that new captain. With a wide smile, he gripped one post of the wheel with his right hand. He adorned his black jacket from before, but now held a visible scar on his chest. A grey bandana covered his head while the rest of his hair hung down to his shoulders. "Ready the guns!" he ordered.

The sound of his voice quickly caught the attention of the crew aboard the _Black Pearl_. Elizabeth broke into a wide smile, as did everybody on deck. Marty pumped his fist into the air and cheered. Pintel and Ragetti applauded enthusiastically. Sora summoned his Keyblade and fired a Fire spell into the air as a triumph.

Steven ran around the entire ship, cheering loudest of all. "He's alive! Will is alive! Whooo! Yeaaaah!"

"Full canvas!" Jack ordered.

"Aye, full canvas!" Barbossa eagerly agreed. "Hard to port!"

The three ships formed a triangle, but not for long. The _Dutchman_ and the _Pearl_ both made the same turn, hard to port, and headed not directly at the _Endeavor_, but alongside it. Beckett's vessel continued to move straight, but the two pirate ships were closing off its escape, right between them both.

Beckett's calm was gone. His face had relaxed, but only to droop in a soft frown and a dismal look in his eyes. It was two against one. Despite the sheer amount of cannons he had, he was in shock. The fact that he had come so close to being defeated had been inconceivable to him. Now that it had taken place, he was in too much shock to even say the word 'fire', to the desperate urging of his crew.

"Sir, orders!" the lieutenant pleaded. "Give the order!" Beckett would do no such thing, continuing to stare blankley ahead, not wanting to witness the beginning of his destruction.

Sora and Steven each took a place at the _Pearl_'s railing, pointing at the opposing ship with their weapons. "Orders, captain?" they said simultaneously.

Jack smirked. "Fire."

"Fire!" they replied.

"Fire!" Barbossa called out.

"Fire!" Will called to his crew aboard the _Dutchman_.

"Fire all!" Elizabeth cried triumphantly.

From either side of the _Endeavor_, cannon fire pierced its hull. The soldiers aboard the ship still awaited orders, even as some of the cannons were blown away from their posts. The Keybearers cast Thunder spells upon the side of the ship. Because of the water, the electricity became super-conducting and smashed apart the lower areas of the ship, allowing water to flow inside.

"Sir, orders!" the lieutenant shouted at Beckett, who was still in a wide-eyed trance.

"It's just...good business," Beckett managed to choke out.

The lieutenant managed to realize that his leader was incapable of giving any further orders. By this time, the devastation wreaking havoc upon the ship was already too severe to try fighting back. "Abandon ship!" he declared. "Everyone, abandon ship!"

The sailors didn't think twice about abandoning their posts now that the order was given. The ship was being torn apart, however. Many were able to make it to the railing and jump overboard with a slight hope of being able to swim to safety. Some were slammed by the falling pieces of the ship. Beckett simply walked down the stairs with one hand on the railing. Everything behind him was getting destroyed only a second after he had passed it by. Splintered wood smacked against his body, cascading all around him. Beckett looked straight forward as the gundpowder beneath the deck ignited and caused an explosion. His face did not waver in the slightest as the resulting ball of flame engulfed him and blew the ship apart.

The example made out of the _Endeavor_ was enough proof for the armada about which direction this battle was taking for them. That was made clear enough when Marty called down from his hanging post on the rigging of the ship. "They're turning away!" he declared. "Yeaaah!"

"Alright!" Sora and Steven yelled simultaneously, high-fiving each other. Steven turned to join Pintel and Ragetti and the three of them jumped up and down in celebration. Sora hesitated when approaching, but the flicker of movement was not unnoticed by Pintel, nor Ragetti.

They both ceased for a moment, stepping before Sora. "Mate...we've had a thought," Pintel admitted. "You've done alright for pirates everywhere today."

"Been doing so for some time," Ragetti added. "So we've decided you're off the hook."

"Oh!" Sora was mildly shocked at this token of gratitude, something that he was not used to receiving from pirates. "Well...thanks, guys," he replied. "Um...we won!" he cheered.

"Aye!" Pintel and Ragetti agreed. Without warning, they hoisted Sora onto their shoulders and yelled out in support of him.

"Three cheers for the Keyblade!" Pintel declared.

"Three more for Sora and Stevie!" Ragetti chimed in.

Sora pumped his fists into the air proudly. Steven took one look at his hands, smiled, and stuck them up in the fashion of horns. "Rock and roll," he muttered to himself.

* * *

As the celebrations were taking place on the _Pearl_, Will was left in a relatively silent victory. He was proud, of course, that he had assisted in the fall of the East India Trading company, especially the fall of Beckett. Still, he knew the duty of the _Dutchman_ and knew he was soon to be on his way.

"Orders, sir?"

Will hadn't expected any of the crew to remain. Many of them had jumped ship after battle. One he had expected to most of all was his own father, but he remained as well, having been the one to ask for orders. "You are no longer bound to the _Dutchman_," Will answered. "You're free."

"Aye," Bootstrap nodded. "A fine thing that may be." He shook his head and smiled. "By my reckoning, I still have some years of debt that need to be paid, if you will have me."

A loyal stubbornness to someone he cared about...Will felt more sure than ever that he was the son of the man standing before him. "On the wheel then, Mr. Turner."

"Aye, Captain Turner." Bootstrap heeded the instruction with a grin. He also took heed of the person Will was looking for aboard the _Black Pearl_. "This ship has a purpose again," Bootstrap reminded, to which Will nodded. "Where we are bound, she cannot come. You will spend one day ashore with her, then ten years at sea." Bootstrap looked off at the horizon. "It is a steep price for what's been done."

Will finally pinpointed where Elizabeth was. She was looking over at the _Dutchman_ as well, having been doing so for several seconds. She hadn't struggled to find him as he had to find her, and the mere eye contact they made was enough to bring a smile to both their faces.

"We'll see," Will said. "It all depends on the one day."

* * *

Elizabeth rested her head on her elbow, which was supported by the railing of the _Black Pearl_. She, like Will, knew of what must happen next. Still, it was a loyalty she was prepared to give. She turned away to walk down the railing, where a longboat had been fixed for her journey. A procession had formed, leading to the boat.

She encountered Barbossa first. "Mrs. Turner," he spoke with a nod. With a chuckle, he continued. "Been a little while since I've greeted you by that name. Now it be your proper name." She acknowledged him with a nod, then continued along the process to see Pintel and Ragetti.

"So long, Poppet," Pintel said gently.

"It's been fun," Ragetti agreed.

Elizabeth patted their shoulders and smiled gently before moving onto Gibbs.

"Your Highness," Gibbs greeted respectfully. "You make a fine pirate, Mrs. Turner. We wish you luck in your future life."

"I had a good guide, Gibbs," Elizabeth agreed. She gave subtle nods to the other members of the crew she had become familiar with. The last one in line was Jack, an encounter that didn't disturb Elizabeth as much as she would've expected.

"Jack..." She shook her head. "It wouldn't have ever worked out for the two of us."

Jack gave a knowing smile. "Keep on telling yourself that, darling." Elizabeth smiled again. After a moment's hesitation, she advanced. Jack held up his hands immediately to stop her. "No...once was quite enough," he assured.

"Thank you, Jack," she replied. She made her exit and stepped into the longboat. Up until that point, she'd wondered why Sora and Steven were absent in the procession. Her doubts were calmed when she spotted them waiting for her, each having hold of one oar.

"We're not saying good-bye to you and Will just yet," Sora replied. "We've still got something we need to do."

"Your world's still got an open Keyhole somewhere," Steven finished for him.

"Sora!" The Keybearer's attention was caught by Jack, who tipped his hat in favor of his departing comrade. "Should I catch you pirating under somebody else, I will not hesitate to shoot you."

Despite the fact that it was a threat on his life, Sora couldn't help but laugh. "I would expect no less," Sora answered jokingly. He sighed softly, then saluted. "You're my only captain, Jack."

"And if Gibbs hadn't come along, you'd be my first mate," Jack answered proudly. He gave a quick thumbs-up to Gibbs, then leaned over to whisper something to Sora. "Say the word and he walks the plank, no questions asked."

Steven's turn for farewells was next. He briefly exited the boat and hold out both hands for Pintel and Ragetti. With a firm grip, they firmly shook on it. "It's been real fun, guys," Steven replied. "Being a pirate is dangerous, but it's also fun. You guys helped me see the fun side of it."

"You helped us out a right sight too, mate," Pintel said in return.

"We're not going to forget you, mate," Ragetti promised. "Your legend will live on here."

"Make sure it does," Steven insisted. "I want to read about it someday." He sighed solemnly. "Good-bye, guys."

"Good fortunes to you, Steven," Pintel and Ragetti wished at the same time.

Steven approached Barbossa, but not specifically for an exchange of farewell, at least not with Barbossa. He held out his arm for Jack the monkey, who hopped from Barbossa's shoulder and clung to Steven's arm. Steven hugged the little monkey to his chest, petting its fur gently. "You and I had some good times too, Jack," Steven reminded to the small primate. He looked up at Barbossa. "You're the only person closer to this monkey than I am." He lifted Jack upward and the monkey jumped back to its original caretaker's shoulder. "Take care of him, will you?"

"I'll see that it be done, Master Steven," Barbossa promised. "Now begone with ya."

Steven walked back to the side of the ship, waving gently to those that hadn't received a personal good-bye. He rejoined Sora and Elizabeth in the longboat and began to row.

* * *

Two swords were stuck into a beach, crossing blades. The sunlight beat down upon the shores of an island, the day nearing its close. Standing at the end of the shore, Will held onto the chest formerly belonging to Davy Jones. The chest, how his possession, held another thing of his.

"It has always been yours," Will said to Elizabeth, adorned in a black tunic with no sleeves, going down to her knees. "Will you keep it safe?"

Elizabeth accepted the chest, holding it in both arms. "Always and forever," she promised. She set it down at her feet, then flung her arms around her fiance and locked lips with him. She wanted to keep the embrace tight, even though the brief seconds they were entwined felt like an eternity already. Still, the eternity didn't last long and Will released her.

"Keep a weather eye on the horizon," he told her. He stepped away from her, departing from the shore and back to the _Flying Dutchman_. One farewell had been given and now Elizabeth had two more to deliver. With a heavy sigh, she turned around, where Sora and Steven stood in waiting.

She approached Steven first. "We had an interesting way to meet first," she recalled. "It's not generally a custom to congratulate a bride."

Steven shrugged. "Knowing the kind of world we're in, I doubt many brides are lucky enough to get the perfect man like you did. You deserve to be congratulated." He opened his arms in preparation when Elizabeth approached him and hugged him tightly.

"I've caught wiff of the attitude you've been giving to authority figures," Elizabeth revealed. She snickered a little bit. "Make sure you keep that up."

"Don't even have to tell me once on that," Steven promised.

Elizabeth released Steven and turned to Sora. Before even giving him a chance to speak, she took hold of his face and kissed him on the forehead. Then she locked him in an embrace. "You've been helping us so much for so long. I don't think there's ever going to be enough gratitude in the world for how much we owe you."

Sora patted Elizabeth's back as he hugged her. "Moments like this are usually worth all that," he assured. "Knowing I'm helping a lot of people, keeping them safe...that's plenty for me."

"The worlds are lucky to have you, Sora," Elizabeth praised. "A kind heart..." She ruffled his spiky hair a bit and giggled. "With a goofy personality."

Sora tried to resist the ruffling of his hair, but Elizabeth was still hugging him close with one arm. "Cut it out!" he laughed, pulling away at last.

Elizabeth giggled some more, then turned her finger to the horizon. "The sunset is almost here," she informed. "Are you sure?"

"I think so," Sora answered, summong his Keyblade. Steven followed closely as he and Sora walked up to the shoreline. Sora held up his Keyblade, preparing for the moment where it would happen. The _Dutchman_ sailed for a few moments longer, then vanished as the sun peeked down over the horizon and a flash of green light burst into the air. As soon as the flash of green hd taken place, a blue beam shot from Sora's Keyblade towards the horizon. It traveled for many seconds until it apparently struck that horizon. A brighter flash occured that made it seem like daylight again. The outline of the world's Keyhole glowed brightly and the sound of a lock closing echoed across the ocean at them before it slowly faded.

The night was beginning to overtake the world when Sora and Steven both began to shine with gentle light. They were preparing to answer another calling in whatever world awaited them.

"Good-bye, Elizabeth." Sora waved to his friend. "I'm going to miss this place."

The two Keybearers shone brightly still and then they were went flying into the air back towards the Gummi Ship. Elizabeth was left alone on that beach in the beginning of a ten-year wait for her love to return to her one day.


	26. A New World Apart

The two Keybearers composed themselves after reappearing aboard their Gummi Ship. An interesting, risky, and trying venture in the world of pirates had finally come to an end for the two of them. Determining their new destination was their next move. One problem arose immediately, however.

"We need to fix the teleporter," Steven informed. "It went really bizarre on us when we landed in Port Royal."

"I landed on the deck of the Pearl," Sora corrected. "Where did you land?"

"In Port Royal," Steven repeated, being sure to take a trip to the ship's controls to press a few buttons. "Just in time to get arrested by Beckett," he added with chuckle. He stood upright and stepped away from the dashboard. "Autopilot has been engaged. We should try to get it fixed before we arrive at our next world." Sora curiously followed Steven to a panel on the wall, leading to the teleporter. "Can you help me?" Steven asked. He knelt down and positioned his fingers beneath a small crack in the floor, gripping it.

Sora knelt on the other side, finding an identical opening on the other side of the panel. He hooked his fingers under it. "Together?" he asked. Steven lifted his head, gave Sora a quick nod, and the two lifted the panel. They moved it to the side and set it down. "So how do we fix it?"

"That's the question in the balance, isn't it?" Steven moved to the other side and laid down. He peered in, examining it. "Aha!" He immediately moved his hand towards and lifted two loosely connected wires, one blue and one green. He put his hands back into the wiring and carefully inserted the blue one back into a socket. "That one allows better power when teleporting multiple people," he informed, then reconnected the green one. "This controls our landing location." He took the panel in both hands and set it carefully back over the array of wires. He listened for a few moments, cupping his ear. Then the teleporter softly lit up and began to hum.

Steven proudly stood up and bowed. "Ladies and gentlemen," he announced to an imaginary crowd. "I have magic fingers."

"And cursed feet," Sora reminded. "Only those could fall for a banana peel,." He laughed, plopping down in the copilot's chair

"Not cool..." He didn't let Sora see it, but Steven broke a weak smile in response before he took the main pilot's chair, lounging in anticipation for the impending trip. Once down, he let out a long sigh. "That was some crazy stuff, Sora, and you weren't lying about Maleficent either. She's one nasty lady."

"If you want to put it lightly," Sora answered. "That still doesn't explain your nightmares about her."

"I don't think they're nightmares," Steven said speculatively. "I think they're visions. The thought of her destroying the village I came from seems too connected to me to be just a dream. Besides, I hated that place. She's the scary part of the visions, not that."

"What about the people living there?" Sora asked, slight concern in his voice. "What if she hurt them?"

Steven felt a hard thump in his chest. He was silent a few more moments, then sighed. "I want to say good riddance to them for how they treated me." He looked up at Sora. Making eye contact with the innocent blue eyes seemed to soften him. "But I used to sneak around to avoid their insults. I heard them going about their business and...they aren't evil. They just acted that way to me." He huffed, clearing his head with a quick shake. "At the end of the day, I do hope they're okay, though I don't have high hopes for that if Maleficent was involved."

As it had previously occured, the alert of a new approaching world interrupted Steven's train of thought and shifted his focus. "Oh!" Steven took a look at the navicomputer. "Looks like we'll be headed to..." His expression drooped and he groaned quietly. "England..."

Sora couldn't help chuckle at Steven's disappointment. "I thought you always wanted to debate it out with the king."

"Yeah," Steven replied. "But not on his turf. On his turf, I could be dead before I even realize he gave the order." He shook his head. "If we're lucky, this is a different kind of England than the one in Jack's world. These places vary, I'd imagine." He typed more commands into the computer. "Get on the teleporter pad. I'll join you in a minute."

Sora hesitantly put one foot on the pad. "You sure you repaired it right?"

"Of course I did!" Steven declared adamantly. "The connections are firm. They're not going to come loose again." He finished adding input to the computer. "Done!" he said, hitting the final key. The teleporter hummed to life. Sora spotted this.

"Steven!" he cried out, moments before vanishing in a flash of light.

"Oh crap!" Steven typed furiously into the computer to try canceling the teleportation, but Sora was already gone. "Shoot..." He took a few deep breaths. "Okay, don't panic...take it easy..." He scanned the map before him, zoned into the land mass. "Why doesn't this thing have a tracker?" Sticking his his hands into his pocket, the circular object he felt in there gave him an idea...but he shook his head. "No time." Instead, he looked at the land mass and selected an area for him to warp down to. "There, easy! Now I just have to get down there real quick and find Sora. He can't be far."

He ran over to the teleporter and flipped the manual switch on the wall. Within moments, he was sent out of the ship and into this new world.

* * *

The feeling of regret was instant. Steven was not surrounded by England, nor a city of any kind. Instead, he had transported himself onto a tree trunk in the middle of a large pond. This stump was positioned beside a much larger tree that enclosed the particular area of the pond with long branches in a massive, hut-like formation.

"Well, this is just fantastic," Steven sighed, getting to his feet. He wasted no further time complaining about where he wasn't so that he could focus on finding out where he was. He stood on his toes and grabbed a thick branch, the lowest one within his reach. He held tight to the branch and began to walk his feet up the trunk. One foot came down upon a knotted area in the bark and he flinched when he felt it shift beneath him. "What in the worlds...?" He moved his foot away from the spot and concentrated on it.

A breeze interrupted his brief time to concentrate and his focus shifted. He looked in the direction the breeze came from to see orange and purple leaves gliding along the current of moving air. It was no coincidence, it seemed, that they were floating in the wind towards him. However, they didn't collide. Instead, they circled around Steven in a fluid motion, keeping his attention on them. He didn't allow his grip to weaken, but he suddenly felt the urge to take a deep breath. He didn't deny this urge and when he exhaled, he suddenly felt something he could only describe as...changed. Fresh. Opened up. The epiphany of these new feelings were made clear only seconds later.

"What's this?" Steven's eyes, like his attention, were yanked back to the knotted spot when his ears picked up a soft, creaking female voice. The knot had shifted into the form of a face, sporting two flatly colored black eyes as well as a nose and a mouth. The bark on this tree was alive, not to mention that it was smiling at him. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise," the tree said.

"Ah!" Steven's flinch of surprise cost him the grip he held and he splashed into the water below. He came up a moment later treading water. Though drenched, he didn't get out. He instead looked up at the tree again. "The smile is still there," he slowly said to himself. "A dunk in the water should have cleared up my senses...but no. A tree is really talking to me..."

A gentle chuckle came from the tree. "Easy, now. You're not going crazy. Here, let me help you." By sheer will, the tree's branches lowered into the water towards Steven. His wrists were wound up in them before they proceeded to lift him from the pond and deposit him on the trunk before the tree-woman. "Tell me your name, child," the tree gently requested.

"Steven..." The Keybearer was hesitant with his answers. "Who are you?"

"I am Willow," the tree answered. "What brings you down into my midst, boy? I must say your appearance was rather sudden."

"I...dropped in." Steven was still hesitant with his answer. He didn't want to give too much away.

Willow's eyes narrowed at him. A branch came down and pushed him gently towards the face imprinted on the tree. "Let me take a closer look." Her eyes stayed narrow for a short time, then became wide briefly. "An odd combination. You have a handsome appearance, but I also see darkness inside." This elicited a very visible gulp from Steven that was quickly set at ease when the tree smiled. "Beneath all that, though, I do see a very good heart."

Steven sighed deeply as the branch came away. Despite having just met Willow, the fact that she somehow seemed to see the goodness in him, though he was very curious as to how she was able to see into him, was very relieving. "That means a lot for a first impression," Steven informed. In this craziness he dealt with, he was oblivious to the fact that an entrance was being parted at the outermost border of where Willow's branches grew. He remained unaware until another branch gently coaxed his head to turn so he could behold this visitor.

It was a young woman riding in a canoe. Long black hair hung down her back. She wore tan clothing with few other colors making up a pattern. Her legs were bare from the base of her thighs to her feet. She held a paddle, but she didn't care to use it to steer anymore. Her brown eyes were widened, in great confusion as to Steven's presence. This wasn't a shock, as Steven's appearance was drastically different. His skin was a bit more pale than hers and his clothes contrasted heavily with hers.

Still, she advanced and stepped up to the trunk. She was just as tall as he was and they saw eye to eye. Willow pulled her branches away, needing their assistance no further, and smiled. "Steven, I would like you to meet my grandaughter: Pocahontas."

* * *

After a brief, heavy sigh of exasperation, Sora collected himself and walked onward. The destination he had ended up in had been more on track than Steven's. Stone bricks made up the streets. People traveled either by walking or by horse-drawn carriages. When he made it far enough through the town, he spotted the water and docks, where a ship was getting ready to set sail.

"New world, old habits," he muttered to himself. Having plenty of experience aboard a ship before, Sora quickly located a table by the ramp where a burly, black-haired man with a ponytail was sitting. Sora knew this to be the post of a last-minute recruitment for the voyage. He jogged over, easily ignoring strange looks he got for his attire, looks he had gotten used to by now. "I'd like to sign up for the crew!" he declared, standing proudly before the table.

The man behind the table tilted his head, disbelief clearly visible in his expression. "You're serious, lad?" His accent was a thick Scottish. "You look a mite too young to be singing up for any voyage, let alone one going all the way across the Atlantic."

Sora groaned inwardly. Though he was used to being shunned for his young appearance, it easily got on his nerves. "I've sailed before," he promised. "I even just got back from a voyage!"

The man drummed his fingers on the tabletop and stroked his chin with the other hand. Clearly, this was a deep thought despite such a simple issue. "Can you tie down a sail?"

"Yes," Sora replied.

"Slack the braces?"

"Aye!"

"Fire a cannon?"

"Uh-huh!"

It was futile. Sora was prepared for every question thrown his way. So the man shrugged. "What the heck? You're not the only eager lad looking to make a fortune in the New World."

"Not fortune," Sora answered. "I'm more of the...adventerous type. I'm also looking for a friend of mine."

The man dipped a feather in ink. "Whatever your desire, I'll sign you right up! What's your name, laddie?"

"Sora," the Keybearer replied. "Just Sora," he added before the man had the chance to request his surname.

"Sora...alright!" The man put away his feather pen and held out his hand. Sora shook it tightly, though he cringed a bit under the tight grip of the man. "My name's Ben. Welcome aboard! Just in time, too. We cast off in only thirty minutes."

" 'Just in time' is my specialty," Sora answered with a weak smile. He freed his hand and rubbed it gently to relieve the pain dealt by Ben's handshake.

"Oi!" A voice had cried out to get attention. "Is that Smith?"

This statement was a head-turner for much of the crowd. Sora followed suit to get a glimpse of this Smith person. Crowds of townspeople, mostly family members of crewmen, were parting the way for a lone man. Marching up towards the ship, he was wearing bright blue clothing. Wavy blond hair grew down to his chin on most sides of his head. His face was clean-shaven and he carried a sword on his back.

"I knew he'd be along!" Ben shouted, clapping his hands.

"Captain John Smith?" said a red-haired man wearing a green cap and with a sense of awe in his voice, as well as on his face. "I've heard lots of amazing stories about him!"

"You coming on this voyage too?" asked a man with thick, ginger-colored hair and a beard.

"Lon, you half-wit!" Ben chastised, walking up the ramp to board the ship. "Of course he's coming! You can't fight Indians without John Smith!"

"That's right!" the man named John Smith heartily agreed. He stepped onto a cannon that was about to be lifted onto the deck via pulley. He held to the rope, allowing himself to be carried with it. "I won't let you boys have all that fun without me!

Sora quickly boarded the ship and followed John across the ship. While the other sailors prepared the vessel for casting off, John leaned up against the mast on the bow end. When Sora got close enough, he turned to look. He did a double-take on the shoes Sora wore, having heard their claps against the deck. "This is the crew that England has to offer?" he questioned. "Either they're getting desperate or you're the finest young sailor out there."

"I've been across the sea a few times," Sora countered. "My name's Sora."

"John Smith," he introduced. "Though I'm guessing you heard the crowd already."

"Your name is pretty big around here," Sora observed. "How did you manage it?"

"I'm no household man," John admitted. "My stories are what makes me a household name, though. I travel a lot and I bring back tales of what I see. People are fascinated by new things, so the stories stick in their memories." Reminscence was apparent in John's eyes. "No exaggeration, either. Everything I see is as glorifying as I tell it." He turned to Sora. "I may not have much of a home here, but you can understand, right? Some are content with just hearing that amazing things are out there. I am not. I have to go out there and see it for myself."

A smile spread on Sora's face, beginning to feel a connection with John. "I agree completely," he promised. "I've always dreamed of going to see new places since I was a kid and I've seen quite a few in the last couple years.

"You're a lucky kid," John said, patting Sora's shoulder as he walked by to look upon the deck. "I've seen more indigenous places than I care to count. I would have killed to do it at your age."

"Mine was a...special case," Sora confessed.

John's envy gently melted from his face and he extended a friendly handshake to Sora. His grip was just as tight as Ben's had been. "Then this should be no problem for you, eh Sora?" He gestured to some sailors carrying cargo on board. "Even I have never been on a voyage of this caliber. It's headed all the way across the Atlantic to the New World. The ones who come along have been promised great fortune." John leaned his back against the railing. "What are you looking for?"

"Uh..." Sora almost answered, but was interrupted by a shout.

"Atteeeention!" By instinct, Sora and John flattened their hands and pulled them up to their eyebrows. The rest of the crew saluted in unison, apparently awaiting the arrival of an important person. A man stepped on board, to which some sailors straightened their posture. He was portly with black hair that tied down to a ponytail in the back. Purple clothing covered most of his body, including a hat, and he wore black shoes with buckles. Stern command was etched onto his face; the expression loudly spoke of command. He was followed closely by a shorter, skinnier man with brown hair and dull orange clothing. A pillow was in the man's arms, where upon a small pug was snidely sitting.

"Governer Ratcliffe, sir!" the crew simultaneously greeted.

"At ease, men," Ratcliffe pardoned. He turned to walk up the stairs where John and Sora were standing. Coincidentally, Ratcliffe took attention to Sora. "What is a boy doing on board our vessel? When I asked for England's finest, I didn't imagine they'd send some eager child."

Sora, offended, began to respond, but John stepped up in his defense instead. "Governor, surely you won't tell me that you've not heard of the great boy sailor, one called Sora?"

"Huh?" Sora was caugh off-guard by the protection, but John didn't let up.

"Young he may be, Sora is a fine seaman. He does work on board equal to that of any one of us. From new world to new world, he's traveled and seen sights that are so unimaginable, they have to be real. In battle, he holds few equals, felling many a savage in his time."

Ratcliffe's sneer didn't go away at all, but he did raise an eyebrow. "Is this so, boy? Sora, was it?"

Sora looked up at Ratcliffe open-mouthed, then to John. John tilted his head and winked at him. The Keybearer turned back proudly and stood up straight. "Yes sir, it is!" he confidently confirmed.

"Hmm..." Ratcliffe straightened himself up and nodded curtly. "Very well, young man. You are welcome aboard. With all those adventures John speaks of, you should be right at home with such a journey." He turned away and strolled down the stairs. "Let us not waste any more time. It's time to cast off!" He opened the door leading to the ship's interior and headed towards, no doubt in Sora's mind, the captain's cabin.

"Alright, men!" Ben bellowed to alert the other sailors. His booming voice didn't diminish much once he had their attention. "Let loose the sails and tie 'em down!"

Sora peered out at the ocean. From this point onward, he was headed across the Atlantic. With any luck, Steven was now out and about, actively searching for Sora as Sora was searching for him.

* * *

BOOM.

Sora, along with the rest of the crew, had been doused by the rain that came down. If this wasn't uncomfortable enough, the ship was caught in a bucking assault of waves, greater than any Sora had dealt with previously. Through all this wind and pouring rain, his hair continued to stand on end without hindrance. Still, cries of panic were ringing loud on deck.

"Faster!"

"Tie them down!"

"She's taking in water!"

Sora ran down the ship, trying to squint so that pouring rain wouldn't blur his vision. He spotted a red-haired man, Thomas, trying to tie down a cannon. He weaved through the chaotic crowd of sailors and picked up the slack of rope left behind Thomas. "I've got it!" he called out. "Keep the cannon steady!"

Thomas pushed at the cannon to keep it as close to the edge of the ship as he could. "I'm trying...I can't hold it!"

"Come on, Thomas!" Sora encouraged, pulling the rope towards the railing, but he felt the cannon sliding anyway. When he thought Thomas might let it loose on accident, a pair of boots thudded against the deck and a blue and yellow blur wasted no time in stepping alongside Thomas to hold the cannon steady.

"Don't worry, boys!" John assured. "We'll get her tied down!"

With John's added strength, the cannon rolled back into place while Sora tugged the rope through a ring. He wound the rope around itself and tied a firm knot. "Cannon secured!"

This was followed by a gush of water from the ocean as the ship descended quickly from the peak of a wave back onto level water. Sora held tight to the railing and John held to the cannon. Thomas tried to, but he was swept across deck. The lurching of the ship caused a sudden turn in his path and he crashed into a railing. He didn't stop there, bursting through and washed off deck entirely.

"Heeeelp!" he called out before he splashed into the deep ocean beneath them.

Sora could see the splash just after hearing the call. "Man overboard!" he called.

"Stay your course!" Ben called out. "He's lost!"

"What?" Sora turned, seeing Ben at another area.

Meanwhile, John had already begun to act. He tied a rope around his waist. "Sora!" He pointed to a pulley wheel. "Watch that for me!" With that final word, he took a running start towards the ship's edge and leapt once he reached it.

"John!" Sora called, running after him and looking over the deck as the man plunged into the water and swam for Thomas' struggling form. "John!"

"Smith!" Ben was at Sora's side in an instant, having seen the same thing. "Are you crazy, man?"

The ship hadn't travelled far from Thomas, so John easily got to him. "Hang on, Thomas!" John wrapped his arm around Thomas' torso to keep him above water. "I've got you!"

Sora spotted the save. "Alright, John!" he cheered. Then he saw that the rope had been tugged abruptly. Thomas' added weight cut off the slack John had. The pulley broke and the rope flew across the deck, threatening to go overboard. "Ah!" Sora swiped at it with both hands and leaned over the deck to grab it. His balance threatened to tip until Ben and Lon, who both stood near the railing, took hold of Sora's arms and yanked him back. Once they were all situated, they began to work together pulling the rope. With the combined strength of two men and a spiky-haired teenager, Thomas and John were pulled underwater briefly, then lifted up from the water.

"Pull!" Ben's muscles bulged a bit as he helped tug the pair from danger. "Put your back into it!"

"It's okay. We've got them!" Sora promised. "Hang on, guys!" He and the others tugged further. They discared the rope and pulled the drenched bodies of John and Thomas over the railing to plop on deck.

John casually squeezed Thomas' hat of water before he plopped on the owner's head. "That was refreshing," he quipped with a smile.

"Well done, Smith!" Lon congratulated.

"Oh, it was nothing," John waved off. "You all would have done the same for me."

"Of course!" Sora replied without hesitation. The other sailors were surprised by this outburst, but quickly, very adamantly, echoed Sora's agreement.

"Trouble on deck?"

That voice brought even the shivering Thomas to his feet. "Governor Ratcliffe!"

"Thomas fell overboard, sir," John explained.

"Thank the Lord he's been recovered," Ratcliffe said, showing a bit of a sign that he was impressed. "Well done, Smith."

"Thank you, sir." John's professional, loyal tone didn't waver.

"The rest of you," Ratcliffe spoke up, turning to address the rest of the crew. "I urge you not to lose heart." Sora silently chuckled at the phrase, which had a very literally meaning for his experiences. "We will not reach the New World soon enough if you lose sight of the goal. You are the finest crew England has to offer." He spared a corner-eyed glance at Sora and added a statement. "And the best of those who would offer themselves. You _can_ get us there if you only remember what awaits; freedom, prosperity, and the adventure of our lives! Rain, wind, and a thousand savages thirsty for violence will not stop us! Now, carry on!"

A cheer sounded through the crew and they hastily went back to their duties, invigorated against the storm. The man in orange trailed closely behind Ratcliffe, holding an umbrella for the governor. "Most inspiring speech, sir!" he complimented. "The men seem very exhil-AAH!" He lost his footing for a moment as the wind tugged against the umbrella, pulling him back with it. Hastily regaining footing, he ran into the doors to the inside of the ship to get shelter. "Exhilarated is what I meant, sir. Very energized."

"They'll need to be." Ratcliffe held up the pug before his face and smirked. "I'll need those peasants to dig up the gold for me, won't I?" The pug smiled back and growled in a pleased tone.

John tossed a bundle of rope at Thomas, who caught it and wound it around the cannon. "The New World will be great, John. I'm going to find a bundle of gold, build myself a big house, and blast any Indian who gets in my way!"

"Spend most of your worry on that good fortune, Thomas," John advised, taking hold of the rope and pulling the cannon along. "Leave the savages to me."

"What do you suppose it'll be like?" Thomas asked, turning to Sora.

Sora started to tie up another cannon and shrugged. "I've seen a lot of places, Thomas," he said. He looked out at the ocean and smiled. "But if experience has taught me anything, I think this world will be just as incredible as the others."

* * *

Steven stroked the water with enough force to keep the canoe he sat in moving. Pocahontas paddled up front. There had been much river behind them, but Pocahontas had assured him that their destination was close.

"Are you sure this will work?" he asked her up front, lifting his paddle to stroke the water on the other side.

"Of course it will," Pocahontas assured cheerfully. "You may be a little..." She turned back to glance over Steven briefly before continuing to paddle. "Different. Still, my father will believe your intentions are good. Besides, your complexion isn't different from mine by much."

Steven glanced over his skin, noticing it was noticably a a shade darker than it had been in recent times. He silently thanked the fact that he'd spent time in the Caribbean, as it had given him a light tan. "Any advice on how I should approach him?"

"Be yourself," Pocahontas replied. "If you are hiding behind a mask, my father will know. Just show him who you are and be proud of it."

"And if he doesn't like who I am?" Steven inquired.

Pocahontas took a moment of silence before answering. "We'll cross that river if we come to it."

Steven sighed. "Great..."

Before he could think it over any further, the canoe thudded against the shore, causing him to shake a bit where he sat. Without further ado, he exited the boat and hopped out into the water. He had gotten wet from his previous splash in the water, so he cared little whether it happened again. Pocahontas gracefully stepped onto land, then tugged at his hand.

"Come!" she urged excitedly. "It is early, so few will be out. It is best not to present you before a crowd until you have spoken with my father."

"Then don't make a spectacle!" Steven protested softly, though he ran a bit to keep up with Pocahontas' forceful leading of him.

Faithfully, she slowed down. Steven admired the surroundings that were no longer passing by him at breakneck speed and marveled. Rather than the cone-shaped tipis he expected of Indians, he gazed upon small huts made of sticks bunched together and branches weaved together for the roof of every shelter. He glanced around at the few members of the tribe that were up and about, a few that were staring at him in confusion and suspicion. He watched one man with a stoic face marching along as if he was simply there to look strong. He realized that it took one, if not more of these men, to build even one house. Seeing how many there were in total was an incredible shock to Steven.

Among all of the huts, there was one larger one near the center of camp. It equaled the size of four different huts. When Pocahontas lifted a fabric flap to allow them both entry, he could see a chamber-like exterior that the size gave it. Despite his instincts telling him to think first, Steven stepped into the tent after Pocahontas. She walked up to a tall, burly man, a large cloak made of animal skin on his back, who turned to face her. No doubt this was the chief. Pocahontas was the first person he saw, which put a smile on his face. He opened up his arms as she ran up and gave him a gentle hug.

"It is a good day, daughter," he greeted, stroking her hair with his right hand. "What has life brought you today?"

"Wingapo, father," Pocahontas returned. "Life has brought me a new friend. A boy," she added, pointing to him.

The chief looked up. His eyebrow instantly furrowed at the sight of Steven. Not to be blamed for, of course, as the contrast between Steven's appearance and the chief's was painfully obvious. He lifted his arms from Pocahontas' head and took slow, intimidating steps towards Steven. Getting a hint quickly, Steven backed up gently, then got down on one knee and bowed his head.

"Hello," he said, carefully taking Pocahontas' advice. "My name is Steven. I...come in peace." He lifted his head to see the chief standing above him, looking down in his eyes. Steven gulped visibly, then continued. "I am a...warrior in search of dark creatures that may exist here. With your permission, I'd eradicate them for you." He felt silly speaking this way to the chief, but it was necessary. "My only request is a humble one; I would like to stay within your people while I search for them so that I may be in comfort."

"Rise," the chief bid him in a soft, yet commanding voice. Steven obediently stood. "I am Powhatan, leader of these people. I must ask of you: what threat is posed from these dark creatures of which you speak?"

"They are known as the Heartless," Steven answered slowly. "They are creatures who thrive off of devouring hearts of others. I have special skills involved with defeating them, should they show up."

"Should such danger arise," Chief Powhatan began to explain. "Our warriors are strong and perfectly able."

Steven had to tread carefully so as to not label these warriors as weak. "Any warrior with great strength can defeat them, I won't lie," he admitted. "However, I possess another power that can fight them. A power of light to fight creatures of darkness." He held out his hand and allowed his Keyblade to manifest in his grip.

Powhatan's eyes widened and his mouth opened. "What Kekata said is true..." He stepped back and looked concerned upon Steven. "You come from a place not of our people, Stee-Ven," he said, tugging an involuntary gasp from Steven. "Our Oracle has spoken that your arrival would be an omen of what will come after; it is a blackness, a mysterious evil too great for our warriors alone."

As Powhatan spoke, Steven felt a gentle chill in his arm. He looked at his hand and saw a flicker of a dark aura. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he flinched. Looking beyond, he saw a larger form of darkness appearing behind Pocahontas. His eyes widened and he charged. "Look out!"

Pocahontas turned to face the darkness and gasped. Three Shadow Heartless had formed from a dark portal on the floor. As they reached solid ground, they reared themselves and sprang into the air. Steven put on a burst of speed and jumped at them. He sliced them all in the air, killing two of them and knocking one back to the ground. When he landed, he turned around and quickly swung down, eliminating that one as well. The dark portal on the floor vanished and he was left alone with Pocahontas and Powhatan, who had come to his daughter's aid and held her while Steven had been taking care of the Heartless.

Steven took a few deep breaths, getting some of his energy back and calming the adrenaline rush he had been afflicted with. He stood upright and dismissed the Keyblade. He looked uncertainly at Powhatan, who turned and looked directly at Pocahontas. She smiled up at him, bringing a smile to her father's face as well. They both looked upon Steven with the same smile.

* * *

Merely an hour later, Steven stood before the entire tribe. Tribal garments now adorned his midsection, covering his more sensitive areas from the environment. His torso, arms, and legs were now completely bare. His long hair hung freely as usual. Despite the breeze, he stood perfectly still. Pocahontas held a wooden bowl in her left hand. With her right, she dipped a finger into the bowl to paint red marks on his chest in the shape of the sun. Then she set it down and took a bowl of white markings. Dipping her pinky into that one, she painted an arch on his forehead. Then on his cheeks, she drew two arrows that pointed diagonally outward from his face.

Powhatan stepped in front of Steven. "My brothers!" He gestured to Steven. "It is my greatest honor to welcome another among us. By his display of great power and great honor, he summoned the power of light and defeated the dark creatures, as well as saved the life of my only daughter. Henceforth, with us, he will be known under the name: Shakti!" Several of the other tribesmen clapped, while some made loud celebration calls that echoed into the woods for all the animals to hear as well.

Steven leaned sideways to Pocahontas. "What does that mean?" he asked in a whisper.

"Shakti," Pocahontas replied. "It means strength."

Strength. By saving the chief and his daughter, Steven had instantly changed from a foreigner to a symbol of strength. The cheers he was receiving added to that was a wonderful ego-boost. Steven walked down a procession, putting himself further in plain sight. Others around him grew quiet in anticipation. Glancing back and forth, Steven lifted his right arm. By his will, the Keyblade formed in his hand. Another unified cheer rang through the air in honor of him.

It was no question that a great adventure was beginning for Steven. From the looks of the company he now kept, it was going to be an awakening one.

* * *

Author's Note: Hey, guys. I know it's been about six months since my last update, but school and life in general has been very intense for me, especially this past month. For those who haven't given up on this story, thanks for your support. I'll do my best to keep the chapters coming, at most, every couple of months. However, please keep in mind that school is a very important thing that I have to focus on.

I also have a message for a fan.

MysteryGirl,

I have not ignored your reviews requesting that I use your OC in my story. The biggest reason that I've been unable to directly contact you with a response is because you're an anonymous reviewer. You type out 'MysteryGirl' every time you review, but I can't send you PM's unless you have an account that I can contact.

As for my response to your request: I appreciate your enthusiasm for the story and your desire to contribute to it. However, I have essentially plotted the entire story and have a fixed continuity for how it will progress. Thank you for offering up the OC, even though I will most likely be unable to incorporate her. She is certainly not a bad character and I recommend you use her for your own purposes, if you can.

-Steven (J0hnny0hm

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	27. Two Worlds Collide

The harvest was underway. Women of Powhatan's tribe were the ones tending to the corn fields, filling their tightly weaved baskets with as many husks of corn as they could fit. Closer to camp, what few men remained were fishing with pointed spears. The children of the tribe were either tossing a ball, using sticks with a net at the end, or sitting around the fire with Kekata, their local wise man. He was manipulating the smoke to entertain the little ones, shaping the fumes into that of a rabbit.

However, a series of horns were blown by the scouts. Without question, everyone working, playing, or otherwise sitting around dropped whatever they were doing and ran back to camp as quickly as they could. Forming a procession by the shore, they awaited the arrival of their warriors.

Emerging in the distance, several canoes made their way down the river. Their own chief Powhatan stood at the head of his boat as a figurehead, bringing emphasis to the return from battle that the warriors were making. One by one, these boats touched the shores and the men that emerged from them opened their arms to their eager loved ones.

"Greetings, Powhatan," Kekata greeted in his weak, raspy voice.

"Emanecho, Kekata." Powhatan returned the greeting with a brief pat on his advisor's shoulder. "It's good to be home." He lifted his staff into the air. "Ches chamay!" The attention of the tribe was once again upon him. "With the help of our brothers, the Massawomecks are defeated and our villages are safe again!"

Powhatan swelled with pride when the battle cry of his warriors now echoed among the entire tribe. He felt Kekata's arm on his shoulder soon after.

"You've returned strongly," Kekata complimented. "And I shouldn't have to tell you the joy filling the hearts of returning warriors and their families."

"Yes," Powhatan observed as two children and a wife embraced their own returning warrior.

"But there's another smiling face I do not see. Where is my daughter?"

Kekata snickered softly. "You know Pocahontas. She has her mother's spirit. She goes wherever the wind takes her."

"Chief Powhatan!" The chief and oracle turned both their heads to regard Steven's sudden appearance in their midst. He bowed his head to them. His hair had grown shaggier in the month that had passed since he joined the tribeso. "I'll go get Pocahontas and tell her you're back."

"Hurry back, Shakti," Powhatan said with emphasis. "I wish to honor your courage in battle before the people."

"Expect me to arrive just in time," Steven warned. "That's usually how I operate." Without further ado, he weaved through the crowd and sprinted through the woods. As Kekata had said, Pocahontas was one to follow the wind. That is what he followed.

Standing atop a narrow peak overlooking a lagoon, Pocahontas had her eye closed, spreading her arms to welcome the coming wind in her hair. She sighed deeply as waves of peace washed over her with the wind. Shortly after the wind had dissipated, she opened up her eyes to the light of the day, only to have them shrouded again as two hands came over them.

"Guess who's back?" a male voice sounded, a hint of a smile apparent in his tone.

"Shakti?" Pocahontas pushed the hands away and turned around. "Shakti!" she repeated excitedly, then flung her arms around him. He returned the favor. "You've returned!"

"So has your father," Steven answered. "That's why I came to-"

"Pocahontas!" A female voice was calling from the distance. Pocahontas peered over the cliff and spotted a canoe in the lagoon. It was her friend Nakoma, a black-haired tribeswoman with a bowl-headed set of black hair, with a bit tied up in the back. "The warriors are back! Come down here!"

Pocahontas smirked gently, then took a running start, leaping gracefully off the cliff.

"No!" Nakoma protested. "Not that...way..." She sighed at her futile protest. Pocahontas was gracefully diving down. With her eyes closed as she descended, she altered her position to be vertical to the lagoon, making for a flawness dive when she came into contact with the water. Nakoma scoffed. "Showoff."

Steven, having seen Pocahontas' dive, grew the urge to jump himself. He stepped back, ran, and completely ignored his distaste for heights when he jumped. He descended feet-first, curling up as he got closer to the water. "Cannonball!" he declared before making a large splash, swimming underneath once he did so.

Nakoma peered over, not currently seeing her friends in the water. "Are you alright?" she called out. She crossed her arms in annoyance. "You'd better be, because I'm not coming in after- AHH!" She was cut off when the boat was tipped over. Nakoma arose within the shelter of the capsized boat and coughed up some water. Pocahontas came up shortly after, smiling. "Don't you think we're getting a little old for these games?"

A splash separated the two of them as Steven came up under the boat as well. "Haha!" he cackled. In retaliation, the two girls deviously began to splash him with water. "Whoa, hey! Easy!" He protested.

"What?" Nakoma taunted. "Surely, our greatest warrior isn't afraid of a little water."

"You wish!" he retorted, splashing them both in return.

"Alright, alright!" Pocahontas giggled. "Come on. Help me flip this thing over."

With their combined strength, the three pushed at the boat and tipped it upright. Steven climbed in first, then helped his two friends up. "So what were you doing out here, Pocahontas?"

Pocahontas gave a very base answer. "Thinking."

"About the dream?" Nakoma asked. "Have you figured it out yet?"

"I know it means something," Pocahontas assured. "I just can't figure out what that is."

"Well, _that's_ enlightening," Steven grumbled. "Maybe you should ask your father about it."

"My father always has an answer for these things," Pocahontas agreed, picking up an oar. "We'd better get back to the camp."

* * *

Minutes later, they came up the river. As the canoe stopped at the bank, Steven hopped out immediately. "Excuse me, ladies," he apologized with a gentle salute. "I'm needed." He ran forward and the crowd parted for him. Silently, Steven enjoyed the fact that he was something of an idol here. It was a nice change from his childhood village.

He reached the front, standing beside another warrior, Kocoum, who had long black hair. A feather stuck out from the back of his head, tucked in neatly. He had a firm stance and toned muscles. His face was completely stoic, something Steven had gotten used to. He was the only warrior in camp who came close to rivaling Steven's own power. Unlike Steven, however, he had warrior's blood and didn't smile a whole lot as a result.

"Our warriors fought with courage!" Powhatan declared. "However, two fought with greater courage than us all: Kocoum and Shakti." Kekata stepped forward with paint on his hand and imprinted a mark on Kocoum's chest in the shape of a bear's paw. "Kocoum fought with the fierce strength of the bear, annihilating every enemy in his path!"

Nakoma and Pocahontas observed from the back of the crowd, given a clear view of both warriors standing before them. Nakoma went into a drawl about Kocoum. "Look at him," she deadpanned. "He is _so _handsome."

"I especially love the smile," Pocahontas quipped sarcastically, rolling her eyes a little at Kocoum's overly stoic expression."

Kekata pulled a necklace of leaves from his robe, lifting it to Steven's head, who bowed so that it could be put on. "Shakti showed valor and concern for his fellow warriors with his fighting spirit and his powers to heal. Tonight, both of them will be honored by a feast!"

A cry was heard among the people before they dissipated and Pocahontas made her way up front to reunite with her father. The man turned to face her and smiled, opening his free arm to her. "My daughter."

"Wingapo, father!" Pocahontas replied, leaning against him as she hugged her arms around his torso.

"Seeing you gives me great joy," Powhatan lovingly said, turning and leading her to his tent. "Come with me. Tell me everything you've been doing in my absence."

"Yes father," Pocahontas answered, pushing aside the flap to the tent. "I have been having a strange dream these past few nights." She took his staff as Powhatan removed his chief's cloak in favor of a simple tunic. "It feels like it's telling me that something is going to happen soon. Something...exciting!" She gripped the staff in her hands strongly, invigorated by just thinking about her dream.

"Yes," Powhatan agreed. "Something exciting is about to happen." He put his tribal hat on a rack and stood proudly before her. "Kocoum has asked to seek your hand in marriage.

Pocahontas' smiled faded gently and she blinked. "Marry Kocoum?"

Powhatan nodded, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I told him my heart would soar for such a union. He is loyal, strong, and will build you a sturdy house in which you will raise fine children together."

Pocahontas peeked out of the tent, seeing several children crowding around Kocoum, tugging at his garments and arms. All the while, the proud warrior just stood there with his hands on his hips. "But he's so...serious." Absent-minded, her eyes glanced across camp.

Several feet away from Kocoum, another crowd of children was surrounding Steven in admiration. However, there was a heavy contrast. While Kocoum was like a statue, the other group of kids were playing a game with Steven.

The warrior ran from them slowly, purposely allowing the children to be able to catch up to him. One of them tugged a bit at his garment and he lurched, falling to the ground in faked agony.

"Ah!" he cried out. Then every child surrounding him, giggling with enjoyment, tackled him until they were just a wrestling pile. "No, no, no!" Steven protested. He rolled around a bit, trying to push the kids off of him, only to have them continue to tackle him. He laughed wildly as they did so. "This can't be happening! A great warrior...defeated by _children_!"

This enthusiasm radiating from Steven was contagious. At the sight, Pocahontas couldn't help forming a smile on her face. Powhatan looked upon her, then turned his gaze to Steven as well. After a moment of consideration, the sight caused him to grow a smile as well. "So that's it," he deduced. "Suddenly, my vision is clear.

Pocahontas snapped out of her brief daze. "What?"

"Look at Kocoum," Powhatan bid her, which Pocahontas did. The warrior remained unmoving to the adoring children around him. "Now look back to Shakti." She did so, seeing the children pin Steven's arms down, one placing a foot on his chest and holding up a staff, declaring Steven's defeat in their little game.

This time, Pocahontas chuckled at the sight, then turned to look at her father again. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"It is simple." Powhatan looked beyond her at Steven. "You wish to marry Shakti."

"What?" Pocahontas flushed red, suddenly ducking back into the tent as if everyone would see her in an embarrassing state. "Father, I..." She was so flustered, however, that she could not speak.

"Say no more, daughter," Powhatan held up his hand. "That match would make just as happy. He is merely a boy, but he is closer to your age. I have seen you two in the time he has been among us. You have never grown such a bond with a boy before. Not only that, but he is our strongest and most humble warrior. He is strong of body and strong of heart."

"Father..." Pocahontas bowed her head and shook it. "I don't know if I want to get married yet. My dream points me down another path."

"You are the daughter of the chief," Powhatan reminded. "This is the right path for you." He opened the flap gently and motioned to her. "Come with me." She followed him out of the tent, walking to the river and overlooking it. "You are nearly grown up now and it is time for you to take place among our people, just as the wild mountain stream must someday join the big river." He gestured out to the river. "The river may be strong, but it lives so long because it chooses the smoothest course. They're steady as the beating of our drums."

Having made his point, Powhatan reached into his robe and pulled from it a small necklace, weaved of blue crystals. "Your mother wore this at our wedding," he explained, putting it around Pocahontas' neck. "She dreamed to see you wear it at your own." He stepped back and admired the piece of jewelry adorning his daughter. "It suits you."

As he walked off, Pocahontas fingered the necklace. It was very pretty, she had to admit. She remembered her mother wearing it for some time prior to her death. These were very early memories of her childhood, which seemed dormant until that moment. She smiled gently, walking to her canoe by the river.

"Pocahontas!" Steven ran up to the shore, out of breath. "Hey there. What's going on?" He glanced at the chief's tent briefly. "What did you and your father talk about?"

Pocahontas flushed, her father's words of marriage still leaving a fresh mark. She didn't turn to face Steven, but she answered firmly. "He talked to me about my path. He wants me to follow a steady course...like the river."

Steven nodded in understanding as he pondered those words. "He wants you to be like the river, you say?" He stepped to the river, looking upon it intently. "Well, I don't know about you, but I've seen some wild rivers." He splashed the calm water, creating lots of ripples in it. Pocahontas' eyes opened a bit more at the sight. "See? Rivers aren't steady. They're always changing." Steven stepped into the canoe and held his hand to Pocahontas, who took it and stepped in herself. Then he picked up one of the oars and began to row. "I like to think of paths as a journey called life. You're still young and still have lots of life left to live. You don't need to follow a steady path just yet."

"You're right," Pocahontas agreed, picking up the other oar. "If we stay on a steady path, we miss the exciting things in life." She and Steven rowed more cautiously as the river's pace began to pick up.

Steven smiled, rowing more strongly to keep up with the river's pace. "A friend of mine would agree you with completely." He peered ahead. "Look! A waterfall!"

As the canoe went over, Steven and Pocahontas lifted their arms. They pushed their legs outward against the inside of the canoe, keeping themselves sturdy as it descended down the pouring waterfall and splashed at the bottom. Rowing a little further, a fork in the river became known to them. One was the smooth, clear path of the river. The other fork was thinner and flowed more quickly.

Steven stopped rowing, as did Pocahontas. He turned to her. "So where are we going?

Pocahontas smiled and began to row some more, turning the canoe. "The unsteady path," she determined. "Just around the river bend " Steven began paddling as soon as she had selected their direction.

* * *

In anticipation of their arrival, the thin branches of Willow parted, taking care not to glide over the skin of either Steven or Pocahontas. They held their oars in the water to slow down the vessel enough to make a gentle stop. Once it thudded silently against a trunk, Steven and Pocahontas climbed onto it, sitting before the bigger trunk of the main tree.

"Are those my children?" a familiar, creaking voice asked.

With a chuckle, Steven nodded. "Yes, Grandmother Willow." This female spirit was not his grandma by any means, but Willow had been the first to meet Steven here. Over a month, he'd warmed up to her enough to address her grandparentally as Pocahontas did.

"I need to talk to you," Pocahontas informed. No sooner had she said this, the knot in the tree began to shift, giving way for the empty-eyed face of Grandmother Willow embedded within the tree.

"Good morning, my children," she greeted, before a certain sight elicited a gasp. "Your mother's necklace! What occasion has allowed your father to bring it out?"

"Well..." Pocahontas fingered the brooch of the necklace nervously. "My father wishes for me to get married. I have a choice," she confessed. "One of then is Kocoum."

"Kocoum?" Grandmother Willow furrowed her face in distaste. "But he's so serious."

"No arguments there," Steven agreed. "He's strong and dependent and all, but way too serious."

"I know," Pocahontas answered. "That's what I told my father before he gave me the choice of marrying..." Her mouth hung open, unable to speak her last word.

"Pocahontas?" Steven tilted his head, leaning over to make eye contact with Pocahontas. Once he had, he face flushed red very quickly and he recoiled in surprise. Confused for an instant, he thought to himself. It took only a moment for clarity to reach him and when it did, his face flushed equally red. Grandmother Willow, having figured it out moments before, smirked gently.

A moment of silence passed, then Steven spoke. "I'm feeling a little warm." He leapt back into the lagoon within the tree's sanctuary without a warning, splashing water up and snapping Pocahontas out of her daze. She giggled as she watched Steven come up and shake his hair out. "That's...a little better," he quipped before he clung to the edge of the trunk and sat down again. "I'm...flattered that your father would approve, but...aren't we a little young?"

"Oh, don't be skittish, Shakti!" Willow chastised. "I'm sure you would make a fine husband!"

"Grandmother!" Steven protested, his face regaining a bit of red as a result.

"I'm not ready for marriage," Pocahontas said in concurrence with Steven. "Even if I was, I had a dream that I believe is pointing me down another path."

"A dream?" Steven redirected his attention, eager to change the subject. Having already won the battle, Willow nodded gently to Pocahontas to go ahead and tell the story.

"Well, there is an arrow," Pocahontas began. "It starts to spin and it just keeps going. Faster and faster and faster until suddenly, it stops."

"A spinning arrow..." Willow mused to herself. "It seems to me like that arrow points you down your path."

"But Grandmother Willow, what _is_ my path?" Pocahontas wondered aloud.

"Your mother asked me the same question once," Willow replied. "You just have to clear your mind, shut out the noise, and listen only with your heart. Then you will understand."

With a nod, Pocahontas did so. She took a deep breath amidst the gentle breeze that formed a circle of multicolored leaves around her. With her exhale, she cleared her mind of all but her dream and she focused. "I see...clouds..." Pocahontas realized. "Strange clouds..."

* * *

Sora awoke in his assigned hammock, swaying gently. With a silent motion, he lifted his legs and arose, stepping quietly out of his hammock and walking up to the deck. He looked around the deck to see everything clear. Silence laid to his left and right as well as behind him. It was all clear. He summoned his Keyblade and walked closer to the first of two sails on this ship. He pointed it upward and, in a whisper, cast his spell. "Wind."

A whirlwind emerged from the blade and came to rest in the bosom of the sail, propelling it forward further than any natural wind could, though the gust was weak enough to avoid ripping the sail. He advanced to the second sail and did the same thing, causing the ship to go noticeably faster than before. With his work done, he dismissed his Keyblade.

This little touch of speed had been administered by Sora every morning and every night that he could manage. The sooner he arrived at his destination, the sooner he could resume his search for his lost friend. He was sure Steven had found his own way, as he'd been able to before, but it had been a month already. This was beginning to worry Sora. By now, he'd imagine that he would find Steven or vice versa. Was Steven not even looking?

Sora shook his head, trying to get these worries to quiet themselves _ Gotta think positive_, Sora reminded himself silently._ Maybe he's just staying put so that we don't chase each other in a circle._

Before further questions could bog Sora down, a second presence joined him on deck. The gentle thudding of boots gave way to John Smith, who stretched his arms, having awakened moments ago. "That's our Sora," he drowsily observed. "Last to bed, but first to rise."

"You know how I like the view," Sora teasingly replied. This alibi of being a model sailor was proving to be a good cover for his magic propulsion of the ship. Sora looked out to sea and his tone grew a little more sincere. "A nice sunrise is a good reminder of home to get every now and then."

"Really?" John raised an eyebrow. "An adventurer like yourself, I think home is the last thing that would be on your mind."

"If you knew me a little better, John, you wouldn't say that." Sora looked out, smiling gently as the sun began to peek up from the horizon. "In all the traveling that I have to do, it's nice to see home again. Times like that are a bit rare, though."

John's teasing ceased almost instantly. The playful atmosphere was replaced with some regret, as if Sora had been offended somehow. "I suppose I ought to be able to sympathize," John admitted. "Home isn't something I see a lot of either. I don't have much of a place to call home either."

"Don't get me wrong; I love adventure!" Sora cheerfully remarked. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. If you want to find a home, though, try discovering all that you think you can. When there's nothing left, settle down. Look for the adventure to end all adventures."

John pondered over Sora's words as he watched the sun fully emerge from the horizon, casting an orange glow on the world as he saw it. "I've seen hundreds of new worlds, Sora," he said, quoting himself. With a smile, he nodded in agreement. "Maybe this new world has that ultimate adventure for me."

"Maybe so." Sora lifted his hand to deflect the sunlight directly from his eyes. Looking slightly over to his left, he spotted some vaguely visible mass. "John?" He pointed outward with his other hand. "Do you see something over there?"

"Hmm?" John's attention redirected itself to where Sora pointed, to which John pulled out his telescope. Through the murky mist of the morning, a solid mass of land was visible. John smirked to himself. "Hello, Beautiful," he spoke quietly. He compacted the telescope and clipped it to his belt. "We've arrived!" he declared.

"All right!" Sora triumphantly punched upward. Shortly after, more footsteps followed as the rest of the crew began to awaken and take to the deck.

"Look alive, men!" John announced to the drowsy sailors. "We've reached land!"

"Land?" The uniform-clad Ratcliffe emerged last. "How can that be? We've been traveling for only a month. The journey across the Atlantic should have taken three!" He marched forward, the crowd instinctively parting for him. He pulled out a telescope, extending it to look upon the new land. Sure enough when the lens met his eye, he saw the New World right before him, clarity increasing quickly. Ratcliffe smirked happily to himself. "Well, what a blessing this is indeed." He compacted the scope and pocketed it. "Gentlemen! Prepare to make port! The New World awaits!"

A cheer sounded off in greater unison than ever before on this voyage. The men eagerly rushed to their posts. The sails were drawn in, tied down to slow the boat, and the anchor was dropped appropriately.

"Feast your eyes, lads!" Lon declared, looking upon the shore. "The land we've awaited is right here. And to boot, we're two months early!"

"All this is ours..." Thomas said, his mind coming to complete realization of the land that lay before him and the fortune he'd been dreaming of. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It can look like Ratcliffe's knickers for all I care," Ben scoffed, throwing a rope ladder down the side of the ship. "I just want to get off this stinking boat!"

"He's right, men!" John declared, becoming the first to climb down the ladder. "We didn't come all the way here just to look at it."

Sora followed closely, hopping down from the ladder and landing on the sand. He slide his foot gently across it. _Nice to have a beach again_, he reflected.

Ratcliffe followed Sora, though he was less courteous. Sora had to get out of his way in order to allow him through and had to duck in order to avoid the large English flag that the man draped over his shoulder. The governor held it aloft and planted the mark in the sand. "I do hereby claim this land of Virginia in the name of His Majesty, King James the First. In doing so, I hereby name this settlement: Jamestown!"

"What if someone already lives here?" Sora offered curiously.

Ratcliffe turned his chin up at the question. "I'd think with your reputation, young man, you ought to know already what must be done. Smith!" John stood at attention. "Take Sora with you to scout the area for savages. Report back as soon as possible and pray they don't give you any trouble."

"If there are savages, I'm sure we can handle them," John promised. "Right, Sora?"

"Er..." Sora hesitated, but lurched under Ratcliffe's harsh stare. "Uh, yeah!" he nodded vigorously in reply. Without another word, the two departed for the woods. Sora shivered a bit, more than happy to leave Ratcliffe's presence.

"Very good," Ratcliffe muttered. "The rest of you: break out the shovels! It's time to start digging!"

Ben and Lon looked at each other. "Digging?" they simutaneously wondered aloud. The other sailors exhibited similar confusion.

"Of course!" Ratcliffe pulled a map from inside his coat. "Don't tell me you've forgotten the spoils found by the Spanish when they came to the New World." He unrolled the map and held it before the men, his arms spread to keep it open. "Mountains and mountains of _gold_!" The confusion was quickly channeled into energy of excitement. "Think of it, lads. The jewels of Pizarro and the gold of Cortez: Trinkets! All of them trinkets compared to what we will find by this time tomorrow!" He rolled the map up and put it back in his coat before cupping his hands and calling to the ship. "Wiggins!"

On cue, the orange-clad man was at attention like a dog to its master, more so than the pug that he had been taking care of during this whole voyage. In his arms were a jumble of shovels, though he held much more than it seemed realistic to carry on one's own. "Excavation tools at the ready, my Lord!" he giddily announced.

"Perfect!" Ratcliffe relieved Wiggins of the tools. "Now take all you've got in you, boys. Dig up Virginia!" He heaved the shovels into the air to fall into the prepared hands of his men.

"Dig up Virginia!" they enthusiastically agreed. Without a second thought given to it, the men shoved the tools into the dirt ground and began to toss it aside into piles, digging up the land as much as they could to find the riches that lay beneath.

This was what they _hoped_ for, at least.

* * *

The tribe of Powhatan was the optimal crowd for gossip on this day. Pocahontas' dream of strange clouds had not been told to the rest of the tribe, but some of that variety had been seen on the horizon this morning. As such, the council was called, presided by the Chief.

"My brothers!" Powhatan called to attention the meeting. "We must find out more about this sign." He bowed out and stood aside. "Kekata, tell us what you see."

The wise elder nodded, then stepped before the fire. He began to chant softly, taking out some stock of powder that he carried. He began to shake it over the fire, letting it drizzle before he let the whole handful drop. From the contact of the powder, smoke arose over the fire. The smoke itself was blue, but what appeared to be the living drawings of the vision came to life before them, illustrating what he saw.

"These men are not like us," Kekata warned. "Their skin is bright, like the sun, and their weapons spout fire." An illustration of the men began to perform these actions. These men appeared to be clothed head to toe, unlike the revealing dress of the tribe. Long objects in their hands made low booming noises as they spouted the fire of which Kekata warned. Before long, the drawings turned to wolves and began to run as a pack. "They will ravage anything they touch, consuming everything in their path along the way." An apparition of one of the wolves began to descend upon that of a tribeswoman, circling her. She held a baby in her arms and clung closely to the child, as if the apparition could really harm it. The wolf continued to float around the room, circling Kocoum once before it faded.

This was enough to set off Kocoum's warrior instincts, though they were never really dormant in him. "Great Powhatan! I will lead our warriors to the river and attack at once," he promised. "The same way we destroyed the Massowomecks, we shall destroy these invaders as well!"

Powhatan swiped his arm through the smoke to clear it up a little before he spoke. "Kocoum, patience. In that battle, we knew the enemy we fought against. These pale visitors are strange to us. Take some men to the site and observe them. We can only hope they do not intend to stay."

* * *

John trudged through this new wilderness, his helmet secure and his rifle at the ready. His levels of anticipation were peaking in the event of savages.

"John?"

"Shh..." John turned around to shush his companion. "We've got to keep quiet, Sora."

"Sorry," Sora whispered gently. "But we're going really slow. Can't we go a little faster? Maybe we can relax a little bit while we look."

"No time for that," John chided. "We need to report back if we find savages. Can't do that if we're dead."

"If we don't return, I think that'd tell everyone that it's dangerous," Sora pointed out, half-joking.

John did a double-take, but managed to retain his calm. "You make dark jokes for a kid your age."

"Come on, John," Sora replied cheerfully. "I know we can handle whatever's out there. Why worry ourselves like that?"

"Don't get cocky just yet," John warned. "These savages are often very keen to their surroundings. We have to-" He went silent, listening. "I hear something. It's faint, but it's also close." He marched forward through the brush, coming upon a small cave. As he went in deeper, the end of the cave displayed a waterfall that obscured the brook just beyond. John walked up to it, Sora not too far behind, and spotted movement several feet away. He took a deep breath, lifted his rifle up, and jumped through the water. He landed upon one of the stones in the brook and held his gun straight, keeping it trained on the form he saw in the distance.

Rather than panic, the form calmly began to rise up to its full height. John focused a little more and could see that it was a woman who stood before him. He lowered his gun a little to get a better look at her. She had the appearance of a savage, but also a savage beauty to her. The wind played with her dark hair, strands of it sliding across her face every couple of seconds. It mesmerized him so that he lowered his gun even more.

Sora gained enough courage to come through the waterfall as well, standing in the water near John. His presence surprised the woman, whose eyes fell on him next. He held up his hands. "It's okay..." he promised with a gentle voice and an even gentler smile.

The woman's eyes opened a little more, allowing for a more relaxed complexion. John, wanting to reassure her more, set his gun down on the rock upon which he stood. He stepped into the shallow water and began to walk towards her slowly, removing his helmet as he did so. It was when he got closer that she began to run.

"Wait!" John called. "Stop!" He quickly rushed through the water to the shore, grabbing his gun as he went, and gave chase. Sora followed John, weaving between the trees, but losing ground because of all the maneuvers

She approached the end of the wood and ran towards a canoe banked at the shore and got in. The woman grabbed her oar. She looked up, seeing John rushing in after her. "Please," John reasoned. "Don't run off." The woman looked up at him, slightly fearful. However, she also looked past him as he advanced, up into the tree. "It's alright," John assured. "I won't hurt you." Upon this, Pocahontas' attention was completely upon him.

Sora finally got through and made his way towards the tree, only to hear a thud behind him. He felt a hand clasp around his mouth, effectively muffling him, and an arm grasp his torso. He was pulled back into the forest to get away from John and the woman he had found, both who were none the wiser to what had just occurred.

After they had come back a few feet, the assailant quickly let go and stepped back. Sora whirled around to face this person and his eyes widened a bit. "Huh?"

Steven waved back with a weak smile. "Hey, buddy. Long time no see."

"Steven?" Sora looked a bit closer at him, but the shaggier hair did nothing to disguise that face.

"In the flesh," Steven beamed proudly. He glanced down at his loincloth for a moment. "A lot more of it than usual, too." He looked back up at Sora. "I actually go by 'Shakti' among the tribe."

"Tribe?" Sora raised his eyebrows. He spared a quick glance back towards the clearing where John was. "Are you a part of the same tribe as that girl?"

"Right again," Steven confirmed. "That's Pocahontas. She was my first friend and possibly my fiancé."

"Say what?!" Sora gasped at the final word. "Fiancé?"

"It's a long story," Steven quickly dismissed. "But I've told you mine. What's yours been for the past month?"

"Sailing across the Atlantic looking for you," Sora replied with a hint of scolding.

"Aw, you really do care," Steven cooed sarcastically at Sora. "I was hoping you'd turn up here at some point. I've seen some Heartless around. Just Shadows for now, but more should show up if there are two Keybearers here.)

"Oh great." Sora sighed gently, putting his hands behind his head.

"It's not _all_ bad," Steven admitted. "Defending them from Heartless is what got me in with the tribe so easily."

"We've got to find the source," Sora decided. "They could multiply because of us, but what if they're organized? Someone with darkness in their heart might be attracting them here, along with us. We've got to keep on our toes before too many are brought together."

"Speaking of bringing things together..." Steven smirked and pointed back at the clearing where John was. Sora peered in the distance, seeing Pocahontas stepping out of the canoe and standing before John. As they did, a group of multi-colored leaves began to blow in the wind, surrounding the pair as if their union had sparked some sort of reaction in nature.

Sora marveled at the sight for a few seconds, then turned to Steven with a slight sneer. "I guess you just lost your fiancé."

"Ah, well," Steven replied with a shrug. "I'm too young to get married anyway." With confidence, he began to walk back out to the pair, Sora close behind.

There was a new air to the situation now, a peaceful one. After the leaves had surrounded them, both seemed more relaxed and comfortable where they were. They let go of each other's hands and simply stood where they were. Even though Steve and Sora had come upon the scene, they didn't even seem to notice. They were too curious of each other to care.

"Who are you?" John asked.

Pocahontas lifted her hand to her chest to indicate herself. "Pocahontas," she replied.

"What?" John asked, not sure if he was hearing more of her language or English.

She repeated herself, speaking plain English as far as John's ears were concerned. "My name is Pocahontas."

In understanding, John lifted his hands to his own chest. "I'm John Smith," he introduced.

* * *

The bushes uphill from the digging site made for a perfect vantage point for the warriors of the tribe that had volunteered to scout. Kocoum took the lead at the closest vantage point, getting reports back from his scouts, one by one.

"There's thirty more down by the ridge," one whispered to him.

Kocoum frowned dismally. "That makes more than a hundred," he informed in return.

Down at the site, Ratcliffe munched on a chicken leg, a rather luxurious food item in comparison to the rations that the sailors had been eating during the voyage. "Keep at it, men!" he tried to encourage. "It's got to be here somewhere."

"It had better be!" Ben groaned, throwing his shovel down. "I mean, here we are digging away, getting all sweaty and worn down-"

"For king and country, I know," Ratcliffe finished, though this was not at all what Ben was going to say to him. "I know, good sir, and I do share your pain." He took another large bite out of the chicken, smacking his lips. "Mmm, exquisite," he muttered to himself before he walked towards Thomas' hole and peered down. "Anything?"

"Nothing but rocks and dirt, sir," Thomas dismally reported." He brought the shovel down again, this time hearing a noise.

_CLANG_.

"Huh?" Thomas tapped the same spot lightly with his shovel, hearing the resounding clang again.

"What is it?" Ratcliffe asked. "Gold?" he was leaning down, peering into the hole with anticipation. Thomas gulped, now having the pressure of Ratcliffe's gaze on him, but lifted his shovel and struck once more. Some dirt gave way after that, giving way to a dark ball of energy that immediately gave way to a black creature. It was about half the height of Thomas and decked out head to toe in-

"Gold!" Ratcliffe cheered, throwing both the plate and the chicken he was eating aside. "Jewels!"

"Monster!" Thomas jumped up and pulled himself out of the hole, running from it.

"Come back, you coward!" Ratcliffe called. "It has the gold!" Soon after, however, he looked just beyond and saw a rustling of the bush overlooking the clearing...

Kocoum struggled upon the ground with a similar creature bearing down upon him. It was heavy, too heavy for him to combat while at the low ground. It writhed and snarled at his face, leaning in for the attack, only to have a tribesman pull it off of Kocoum from behind. With this new relief, Kocoum got up and took hold as well. Together, they swung the creature back, then heaved forward, sending it clattering down the hill from their vantage point.

Ratcliffe kept his eager eyes on it the whole way. Once it lay in a heap at the bottom, though, his eyes darted upward to where it had come from, seeing what had thrown it down towards his men. "Savages!" he called out. "They are ambushing us with these demons! Arm yourselves!"

There was little need for this order, as the arrival of the second creature had already cued them to run for their weapons. Muskets were passed out and most of the men took cover behind a long log.

"One flank on the monsters!" Ben barked, motioning to one group of men. "The rest of you: fire at the savages!"

One group of six men fired down into Thomas' hole. The beast took hits, but most of the gunfire ricocheted off the valuable metal it wore. Once it had stopped, it leapt out of the hole at the men, who had already begun to run away to reload their weapons.

"It's unstoppable!" one cried out.

"Gunfire doesn't work!" another yelled out frantically.

Meanwhile, the tribe warriors were under fire from the other flank of men. The guns were unfamiliar weapons to them, so they tried to keep steady. However, there were times of silence in between shots.

"Now!" Kocoum cried at these times. Revealing themselves, the warriors drew arrows out from their quivers and fired at the men. Most of the arrows landed short or long of their targets, but the ones that aimed closely enough for a hit were deflected by the logs these men hid behind. When another shot rang out, the warriors hid again to avoid their fire.

Ratcliffe fired his own musket at the monster, only to get the same ricochet noise that the other men had been met with. "Blasted Smith!" he cursed, rushing to reload. "Where are he and Sora when I need them?"

_BANG_.

A gunshot passed between Ratcliffe's legs and he shrieked. He whirled around to see Thomas face-down in the dirt, holding a gun that pointed down the path that it had just fired: right beneath Ratcliffe. "Shoot _them_, you idiot!" Ratcliffe snarled. He looked up and sidestepped an arrow that had come for him. Immediately, he lifted his gun towards the attacking savage and fired.

"Gah" The man dropped his bow and clung to his leg, toppling onto his side from the pain of his wound.

"Namontack!" Kocoum tossed his bow aside and rushed to the aid of his fellow warrior. With Namontack down, one of the creatures got the idea to rush towards the man and leapt at him. Kocoum sprinted to catch the creature in midair and, despite how heavy it was, managed to heave it on his own, filled with drive that give him strength to protect his fellow warriors. Kocoum hoisted Namontack to his feet and supported the man on his own shoulders. "Back to the village!" he ordered, rushing through the forest to escape, his men close behind.

Upon their departure, the two creatures decked out in gold that had appeared formed their spheres of energy again and vanished within them, as if to disappear into thing air. The sailors all let out a victorious cheer, celebrating that they had managed to drive off the attackers.

Ratcliffe was, to put it lightly, less amused than they were. "Shut up, you fools!" he yelled. "They'll be back. And we know they have the gold. For now, we will set up camp. Start by chopping down some trees and building a fortress wall. That will keep out most of the pesky invaders." He marched among the men as they left to obey his orders and he stopped a few feet before Thomas, who stopped upon instinct and looked up at his governor, gulping gently in anxiety. "Learn to use your weapon, Thomas," Ratcliffe muttered quietly with contempt. "A man is no man, no matter what age he is, if he doesn't know how to shoot."

Thomas bowed his head and quickly turned away, running to go help build the fortress.

* * *

Namontack groaned as he lay on his back, Kekata examing the wound in his leg and painting it with herbs to help it heal. Powhatan, as well as some of the warriors, looked over him as well.

"First we have these monsters invade our shores," Powhatan contemplated with malice. "Now they have attacked our men."

Kekata rose to his feet, draping a woven blanket over the injured warrior. "His wounds are strange to me," he revealed.

"But now we know there exists a greater danger in what we face," Powhatan determined. "It is a threat greater than we can handle alone." He turned to Kocoum, who was already standing in a firm stance of obedience. "Kocoum, gather our brothers so me may drives these demons of black and white away from our shores. Kekata, tend to Namontack. I will send for Shakti to heal him."

Powhatan walked outside his tent to a crowd of his people, almost the entire tribe. They had seen the warriors come into camp with Namontack injured and they were curious as to what had happened. Their chief held up his hand for their attention and announced it to them loudly.

"These white men are dangerous!" he said with a tone of great urgency. "No one is to go near them!"

Powhatan did not know, however, that this command had been violated before he had even made it.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, guys! I know I'm coming to you 8 months after my last chapter, but here's another one. College has begun for me, so I hope you can forgive the long absence. Link that with work, going out and doing stuff, exploring opportunities for my future work, and working on other projects...I've been rather busy as of late. Rest assured, I'm not giving this up. I still really like writing this story and want to see it to completion. I'll try not to take as long with the next chapter.**


	28. Odds Within Each World

Sitting beneath a tall, shady oak tree, Pocahontas held in her hands a silver instrument that John had been wearing upon his head, examining it. She was used to water reflecting her face but the water didn't distort it in the way this thing was. It stretched her complexion a bit, making parts of her face appear bigger than they truly were.

"It's called a helmet," John informed her.

"Helmet," Pocahontas repeated.

John glanced aside, a little uneasy at teaching a native terms that even a young English child would know. "So...what river is this?" he asked awkwardly.

"Quiacahonik," Pocahontas answered, slipping the helmet over her head. It covered up her eyes, as it was a little too big for her.

"You have unusual names for things," John observed. "Chicahomany. Quia..." He paused, seeing the helmet covering her face. He lifted his hand to the helemt. "Quiacahonik... Pocahontas." He lifted the helmet off her head so he could look at her again.

"You have an unusual name as well," Pocahontas retorted, taking the helmet off and setting it before her. "John Smith?"

"Try mine on for size." John lifted his head. The other Indian boy emerged from the bushes, Sora walking right behind him. He sat down and held out his hand to John, who accepted the gesture of a handshake. "My English name is Steven, but you can call me Shakti if you want."

"Shakti," John Smith repeated curiously, then raised an eyebrow. "Why do you have two names?"

"For being part of the tribe, I was given a new name, Shakti. It means 'strength'," Steven replied, putting a hand to his chin. "I can't help but feel I've heard a name like that somewhere before, though...I think it was a Jedi's name..." He shook his head as John opened his mouth. "Don't ask. You're learning too much already."

John chuckled a bit. "Probably for the better we don't go into any other cultures right now. I thought it was weird enough to meet a lad with a name like Sora's."

"What's that mean?" Sora asked, a subtle tone of accusation in his voice.

"But here," John quickly said to Pocahontas, changing the subject. "We never greeted each other properly." He held his hand out to her.

Pocahontas eyed the hand for a moment, confused. "Nothing is happening," she observed.

"No, I need your hand," John coaxed. Nervously, Pocahontas looked to Steven for guidance, being the only person she trusted fully in the area.

"It's a handshake, Pocahontas," Steven explained. "Like what me and John did."

With some ease and hesitation, Pocahontas opened her right hand and brought it in to meet John's. Though him clasping it was a bit of a startle for her, she returned the favor. Doing as he did, she moved his hand up and down.

"See? Nothing to worry about." John smiled at her. "It's just one way we say 'hello'."

Pocahontas gently pulled her hand back. "This is how my people say hello." She lifted her arm to have her hand come in front of her face, making an arch as it came up and down. "Wingapo," she stated.

"Wingapo," John repeated. His actions were mimiced by the two Keybearers sitting idly by.

"And good-bye," Steven added to Sora and John. He did a similar motion to Pocahontas, except that his arm was stretched out fully as he did the arch. "Ana," he spoke.

"Ana," Sora echoed, followed by John. Then John put his hand up against Pocahontas', their fingers pressed against each other.

"I think I like 'hello' better," he mused with a bit of a smile. Pocahontas flushed a bit, glancing over to Steven with a bit of an uncertain look. Steven could see her uncertainty, so he piped up to ease the tension.

"Where you from, John?" he asked.

John turned to Steven, raising an eyebrow. "London," he answered. "Our company sailed from there about a month ago, including Sora. I take it this is the friend you were looking for, Sora?"

"Yeah!" Sora nodded with a soft smile.

"What's this?" Pocahontas picked up a circular device near John's bag. She couldn't make out the markings very well, but she did notice that there was an arrow upon it. She couldn't examine further, as John picked it up from her hand and held it up so he could show her.

"That's my compass," he explained, pointing with his finger. "This arrow right here, you see? It points north so that you always know where you're going."

"And you have these in your villages?" Pocahontas asked curiously.

"Yes." John pocketed the device. "And much more. All that you'll be able to see soon enough. We're going to build them here. Roads, better housing-"

"Excuse me?" Pocahontas interrupted, rising to her feet. "Our houses are fine."

"You think that," John accepted before standing up and continuing to argue. "You haven't seen what we have to offer, so you don't know any better."

"Excuse _me_?" Steven got to his feet, standing behind John, who was now on both sides. "I _have_ seen both sides before. I've been with these people for a month, John. They're perfectly happy with this way of life."

"Oh come now," John scoffed. "You can't live a civilized man's life and then choose the ways of savages.

"Savages!?" Pocahontas cried out, staring angrily at John's face. Steven took to her side, crossing his arms and shaking his head at John.

"No!" John answered frantically. "Not that _you're_ savages."

"Just my people," Pocahontas accused, leaping upwards and taking hold of a branch. She climbed into the tree, getting away from John as best she could.

"You must understand what I'm saying!" John protested, climbing a bit more slowly after her. "Let me explain. 'Savage' is just a word. A term for people who are uncivilized!"

"Like me and my people?" Pocahontas called back.

Their squabble in the trees continued. At the ground, Sora, despite having chosen to remain neutral in the argument, was shaking his head at John's words. Steven casually walked over beside his friend to observe the chaos with him. "So...this is the guy you chose as your main companion in my absence?"

"Hey! He seemed alright at the time!" Sora defended, followed by a gentle shrug. "He talked like a guy who really liked adventure...kinda like me. This approach he's taking now, though... this guy is clueless about how to talk to somebody in a new world."

"Well, believe me: sometimes it's not always about talking," Steven confessed. "I saved the chief and Pocahontas from Heartless when I arrived here. That's how I got in their good graces...easier than I thought it'd be, honestly. That and being a great warrior in battles with other tribes is what got me to the stage where the chief was comfortable with me marrying Pocahontas."

"So you really weren't kidding about the fiance thing?" Sora chuckled.

"No, that part is apparently true," Steven replied, a little bashful. "Though I don't plan to. I'm not going to stay here forever, I'm way too young to get married, and Pocahontas has her own dreams to fulfill in life."

"Like what?" Sora asked, putting his hands behind his head.

"I mean that literally, Sora. She's been having dreams lately." Steven held out his hands in order to tell it in a more dramatic fashion. "You see, there's a spinning arrow that-"

_THUD_.

John had tumbled out of the tree at that moment, landing atop Steven. Sora winced for a second, then peered down. "You guys okay?"

"I think I'm fine," John mused. "I'm just- ow!" The exclamation of pain sounded when John's helmet fell from the tree neatly onto John's head. Still, it was a piece of metal, so it was bound to hurt. Pocahontas descended from the tree more gracefully, climbing each branch before leaping safely to stand before John. She lifted the helmet to look into his eyes and John went on the defensive again. "Listen...when I say savages, what I mean is-"

Pocahontas put a finger to her lips to hush him, then spoke. "What you mean is...not like you." She helped him up, taking his hand and leading him away. "You think I'm an ignorant savage, do you? You've followed your own path for your life. Let me show you mine." She pulled aside the bushes, gesturing John through. The bewildered man picked up his gun cautiously, holding it at his side as he shuffled through after her.

After she disappeared in a run, no doubt hurrying John along with her, Steven rolled onto his back, still reeling in the pain John's fall had inflicted on him. "Owww..." He looked up at Sora, who held back something of a smirk. Steven sighed heavily. "And I had a great record while you were gone."

"What can I say?" Sora chuckled. "Trouble follows me wherever I go."

"Clearly," Steven quipped, standing up and brushing himself off. "Because whenever I'm around you, it falls on _me_." Sora's laughter doubled and Steven gave his friend a light shove. "Alright, enough of that! Tell me what you've been up to this past month. We've got catching up to do."

"Okay," Sora replied, his laughter fading gently as he took a short breath. "Well...there's not much to tell," he admitted. "I've been on a ship the last month or so. Nothing but hardtack and gruel to eat, mostly."

Steven raised an eyebrow. "Nothing but what now?"

"Uh..." Sora decided to change his words. "Sorry, they're fancy English words. It's oatmeal and crackers."

"For a month?" Steven grimaced. "Not disgusting, but...really dull. I've been eating berries, corn, bread... Do you know how delicious bread is when you spend a few hours making it? Everything else, too. It was tough working for it at first, but it really tastes that much butter when you've worked for your meal."

Sora mused at Steven's words, putting his hands behind his head. "Just how much of this lifestyle are you taking to?

"Well, a pretty good deal after a month," Steven replied. "I'm trying to keep-" He shivered briefly. "Whoa..." He looked to Sora. "Did you just feel a draft?"

"No," Sora shook his head. "You feel something?"

Steven nodded, closing his eyes. "Stay quiet..." He inhaled, then exhaled softly, taking in his surroundings based on his hearing and instincts alone. "Something's coming..." He observed. He held up his hand, opening his eyes. Sure enough, it was shadowed in a flicker of dark energy.

Sora looked upon it, a bit wary at first. He took a step back from Steven and observed the hand.

"Sora?" Steven spoke, a little concerned with his friend's fear. "Sora, it's me..."

Sora looked up, glancing into Steven's eyes for a few solid seconds. After that hesitation, he exhaled softly, calming down. Then he looked at his friend's hand again. "Is that how you know?" he asked.

"Yup," Steven replied with a smile, simply relieved that Sora was getting used to his darkness. "This happens whenever I'm near-" His sentence was cut off by the sudden materialization of dark portals surrounding them. Noticing this, both boys held out their hands to summon their Keyblades.

"Heartless?" Sora finished pointlessly.

"You got it!" Steve affirmed. "I'll tell you more after we take care of this lot!" Then the two lunged at their attackers, each going for four of the Shadows.

Steven, holding the Keyblade with both hands, rolled to the left of the group and then charged down the line, swinging upward with the Keyblade for the first three. When he got down the line to the fourth, it jumped away from his strike before lunging at Steven's face. He did a brief sprint backwards before hammering it to the ground and dealing a second strike to finish it off. Turning back to the other three, he held up his Keyblade horizontally when the first one leaped at him. It clung to the shaft of the blade and Steven pulled back on it. Then he swung forward forcefully to fling the Shadow into another, obliterating them both.

Sora swung at the Heartless advancing on him, but was having a little less luck. They were a bit faster than the normal variety, not to mention a bit more flexible against his strikes. "Come on, hold still!" he grunted. Boxed in on all sides, he held his Keyblade up straight. "Gather!" He ducked down as the four creatures were drawn up into the diamond-shaped mass of magic, spinning around as they went.

A fifth soon joined in the chaotic swirl of magic. Steven advanced on the last one in his group of Heartless, but the Magnet spell lifted it from the ground. The creature was just narrowly spared of Steven's Keyblade, which swiped only air. "Hey!" Steven jeered. "Quit hogging them!"

"Why? You looked like you were having plenty of fun playing golf with them!" Sora taunted back before crouching. He spring-jumped up to the mass of magnetically gathered Heartless and struck the mass several times, decimating the Heartless one by one until they were nothing but hearts floating into the sky and, shortly after, nothing at all.

With a satisfied sigh, Sora dismissed his Keyblade. "A little more dodgy than usual," he observed.

"Maybe they're getting smarter?" Steven suggested.

"Or maybe there's somebody more capable driving them this time around." Sora scratched his head a few times. "Last I knew, Maleficent hasn't been here." Steven got a brief chill from hearing Maleficent's name that made him shiver slightly, but not enough to cause Sora to panic. "And given she wasn't actually there when we saw her, she probably has more important things to do than be here herself."

"What about that flunky of hers?" Steven suggested. "What's-his-face...um-"

"Pete?" Sora finished.

"Yeah, Pete." Steven crossed his arms skeptically. "You sure it'd be him? From what little I've been told about the guy, he's not the brightest."

"I said 'capable', not 'smart'," Sora corrected. "He may be too dumb to tie his own shoes, but he's still dangerous. He's also pretty good at commanding Heartless."

"You don't suppose-?" Steven ceased speaking and held up a finger to his lips so that Sora would not speak either. To both of them, a faint sound of pounding was heard. "The drums... something's wrong." Steven groaned gently. "Sorry Sora, but I have to go."

"Wait!" Sora urged quickly. "I'm scouting back to Governor Ratcliffe. What should I tell him?"

"Tell him you found nothing worth reporting," Steven suggested. "Hopefully they haven't run into other tribesmen or else we might already have a problem."

"Shakti!" Pocahontas called out, running into the clearing, followed by John. "The drums!"

"I know!" Steven replied, beginning to move in the direction of the tribe's camp.

"Wait!" John took hold of Pocahontas' arm, stopping her gently. "When can I see you again?"

"I can't," Pocahontas answered solemnly, trying to pull away. John took hold of her arms and she stood there, looking up at him. As if it were the work of two forces outside themselves, they began to move their faces a bit closer together, closing their eyes. Pocahontas quickly broke this silence.

"I have to go," she insisted, regret still hinted in her voice. John's grip loosened and he turned to watch her depart. He clearly felt regret as well.

Steven hung back a bit, briefly speaking to the both of them. "We should rendezvous again in the near future. Maybe give it a couple of days for the tension, if there is any, to die down." He quickly made the arching arm motion of 'Ana' in farewell. "Good-bye." Sora and John returned the gesture and Steven began to run the opposite direction.

"Be careful over there!" Sora warned as his friend sped off.

Steven stopped several feet away, raising an eyebrow to Sora. "I've been here a month, Sora!" A smirk formed. "If anyone needs to be careful, it's you!" He turned tail and sprinted after Pocahontas, leaving Sora and John to return to their camp and report back.

* * *

Contrary to their hopes, things had taken a turn for the worse. They found out that there was an ambush of people from Steven's tribe. What's more, reports of demons had also surfaced, demons Sora had a feeling to be Heartless. He and John agreed that a few day's time would be needed for the tensions to really die down for another meeting with Pocahontas and Steven. So in the meantime, they helped out at camp by putting up the large wooden wall of the fort.

Sora did volunteer for some more scouting in the meantime, saying that if there were more savages that came near, he would report them. Ratcliffe allowed this, seeing Sora as a weak asset as far as digging went. Despite taking offense to this, Sora kept quiet and merely accepted the work he was volunteering for.

Over time, he found that there were more and more Heartless appearing near the camp. Something was definitely guiding them. He did his best to follow them to their source, but they provided too much of a threat to simply follow. He had to eliminate them before they could do the same to him.

He and John were now into the second night since their last time seeing Steven and Pocahontas. John, Lon, Thomas, and Sora were pushing up the last section of wall under the barking command of Ben.

"Come on, lads! Put your backs into it!" Ben urged. "It's only a wee picket fence you've got here!"

"Picket fences are for gardens, not fortresses!" Sora retorted, though he pushed even harder, the wall nearly up. Finally, it sank firmly into the ground, completing the fort. "Alright!" he cheered, holding up his hand for a high-five. Oblivious to the gesture, the other men ignored him and shook each other's hands.

"That'll keep them out, right John?" Thomas quipped. John didn't respond, merely shoveling a little bit of mud out of the way, now working with an absent mind. Thomas watched with a puzzled look upon his face. "Something wrong, John?"

"What?" John asked, barely looking up from his work.

Thomas leaned on the shaft of his shovel. "You've been really quiet the last few days."

"Oh, he's just upset cause he missed all the action!" Lon chortled.

"Is that it, John?" Thomas asked in a teasing tone, nudging his comrade's arm with his fist. "Don't worry, you'll get your chance."

"Sure will!" Lon hunched over, holding the flat part of the pick against his shoulder and holding the handle out like it were a rifle. "_We'll shoot ourselves an Injun, or maybe two or three_!" he sang gleefully.

Sora and John involuntarily rolled their eyes at this gesture and continued their work. With a similar attitude, Ben tossed a tarp over Lon's head to stop his antics. "Enough of your messing around and get back to work!"

Lon pulled the tarp up to show his face. "Come now, Ben, it's just a little fun."

"Oh sure!" Ben cried out, tossing his shovel to the ground. "We're having loads of fun out here digging in the rain!" He jerked his thumb behind him, pointing out a tent that was warmly illuminated by a lantern within. "All the while, Ratcliffe is just sitting in his tent, happy as a clown!"

* * *

Ratcliffe held a crinkled map to his chest, his eyes nearly bugging out of his skull with panic. "I'm _doomed_!" He tossed the sheet of paper from him and it dropped softly to the ground. "It's been nearly four days digging for gold and we haven't found a speck!" He emphasized the last word by kicking a small pebble, eliciting a brief growl from the pug, who was nibbling from a small bowl of food. "What am I overlooking?" With no more options but rambling before him, he decided to call in his fail-safe option for venting. "Wiggins!" he bellowed.

"Sir!" The flap of the tent opened and Wiggins clung to it, looking as if he was going to fall over. On either side of his head were sections of an arrow, protruding from it. "I...I..." Wiggins stammered. Then he plucked the arrow from his head, revealing it to be a headband meant to simulate the look of an arrow going through his head. "I made it myself! Quite the practical joke, I've found!"

Ratcliffe, in no mood for jokes, snatched the headband from his lackey. "Give me that silly thing!" Shortly after it was in his hand, Ratcliffe's eyes fell upon the fake arrow. His brain became active and a slight suspicion formed in his mind. "Wiggins...why do you think those Indians attacked us a few days ago?"

"Well..." Wiggins began to tally reasons on his fingers as he spoke them. "Perhaps it's because we invaded their land, cut down their trees, and dug up their dirt."

"Without provocation?" Ratcliffe replied. "We went nowhere near them when we landed, though I guess I can't put it beneath them. They are savages, after all."

"Or maybe you ain't looking for answers in the right places."

"Eek!" Wiggins turned his back to Ratcliffe, spotting a dark, bulging silhouette before them, which remained shrouded in a more shadowy area of the tent. Wiggins' feet seemed to fly from the ground and he immediately jumped behind his commanding official and hid, trembling in fright.

Ratcliffe rolled his eyes as he glanced over his shoulder. "And you came so highly recommended..." He stepped forward to show his lack of cowardice. "Who are you?" he questioned insistently. "Show yourself!"

A pleased cackle came from the creature and it stepped forward. Ratcliffe raised his eyebrows, eyeing this creature with care. It appeared to be a very large cat-like creature wearing a peculiar suit. His men wore mostly grays and dull blues in their uniforms while he and Wiggins were in purple and orange, respectively. However, this...thing was dressed in a suit of vibrant colors. The torso section was colored red with straps of blue linking two blue shoulder pads together. Its lower garments were a darker blue and they had two pockets with zippers as well as one zipper that went down the middle and up the back, parallel with its position at the front. The most bizarre features were that of the creature himself, not having the true appearance of a cat. It walked on two feet like a person did and had gloved fingers similar to people, though only four.

"Pete's the name, my duckies!" the cat boasted proudly. "I been hearing about your issues with finding some gold and I think I can help all your problems go away!"

"I brought the finest crew England has to offer," Ratcliffe retorted. "What could you do for our cause that these men have not been able to accomplish in four day's time?"

"Hmm..." Pete scratched his chin, feigning thought. "It's true your fellas have been working hard diggin', but there ain't any gold to be found." He walked up to Ratcliffe, standing about six inches superior to him. "Do you think that maybe someone else got to it first?" He plucked the arrow out of Ratcliffe's hand, wiggling it with a smirk.

Ratcliffe's thoughts suddenly clicked into place and he gasped. "Of course!" He rushed over, clutching some maps that were draped over an easel! "The Indians have the gold and they don't want us to take it from them!"

"Exactly!" Pete confirmed. "And they ain't alone, neither!" He snapped his fingers and one of the creatures that had attacked the camp marched in and stood obediently at Pete's side, though it would not stop twitching.

Ratcliffe was made understandably uneasy by the sight of it. "One of those demons!" he hissed gruffly, putting a hand at his waist in case he needed to draw his sword.

"Now that's just a little harsh!" Pete retorted defensively, picking up the creatures by the antennae. He held it in front of them, keeping a tight grip so its twitching didn't allow it to escape. "Demons are creatures of pure evil with no thought to anything else. Heartless, though...they can be tamed, can be yours to control. They can do whatever it is you're willing to have them do. Like, oh, I don't know..." And Pete's smirk, bizarre as it was to think it was possible, grew even bigger than it was before. "They could help you get rid of them Indians and get all that gold, if you got enough of them."

Ratcliffe stroked his chin in thought. The proposition put before him seemed too good to be true. As such, he knew there had to be a flaw in it somewhere. Now was the time to discover it. "And in exchange for this help, what would you desire in return, Pete?"

"B-b-but s-s-sir!" Wiggins protested, teeth chattering.

"Quiet, Wiggins!" Ratcliffe barked. "I want to hear his proposition."

"In exchange?" Pete dropped the creature to the floor, where it stood in waiting. "Well, being the simple fat cat that I am, I'll be wanting a little cut of that gold. But something even more valuable you can give me is your partnership. Well, not me, but my head associate. What we're after is the wealth of all worlds, not just this little rock you've landed on." Making the first physical contact of the conversation, Pete clasped Ratcliffe's shoulders, pulling him in and whispering excitedly to him. "We'll find mountains of more than just wealth. You'll find power, a giant load of it! Come with us and just imagine what the folks back home will say when you make your grand return!"

Ratcliffe brushed Pete's hands away from his shoulders, turning away and looking at his map and where England lay upon it. "The king would reward me greatly...he'll knight me- No!" Ratcliffe stood upright and turned around, glee and fantasy racing through his body. "_Lord_ me!"

"Or even better yet, just go off on your own conquest!" Pete added, feeding into the grand vision of the future Ratcliffe was crafting for himself. "You could find other worlds and rule over them. _You_ could be a king!"

"Yes..." Ratcliffe whispered to himself, his eyes widening with greedy enthusiasm. He drummed his hands together and walked up to Pete. Standing tall and proud, he held out his hand and shook Pete's. "You have yourself a partner!"

"Excellent!" Pete cackled gently, but lowered his voice a bit and whispered to Ratcliffe. "But I warn ya: your men might not take kindly to these fellas I'm lending you here, so if you use them, keep it on the down low. But all the same, if you can get me a little bit of your weapons and armor, I can work wonders. It'll make 'em better than they already are and let me tell you, they ain't no pushovers."

"If I ever need them, it'll be for naught but battle," Ratcliffe whispered back. "All the same, I do agree: until then, the men cannot know."

If either of them had been boasting a little more quietly as they had talked, they might have heard the approaching footsteps midway into the conversation. Sora stood cautiously, quietly analyzing the situation he now had to deal with.

_Great. Pete **is** here,_ he cursed silently. _It's bad enough that Ratcliffe is working with him, but now I have to live in this camp with him around?_ He walked back towards the digging site, frustrated and clueless as to what he was going to do from here.

From the tent, Wiggins cautiously shuffled towards the opening, away from Ratcliffe and Pete, glancing out. He spotted Sora and his eyebrows lifted, putting two and two together rather quickly. "Sir!" He almost turned right around and spouted this information to Ratcliffe, but he managed to stop himself at that first word.

"What is it, Wiggins?!" Ratcliffe snarled, evidently having been entranced by Pete's words and upsets with the interruption. "Come on, spill it if it's so important!"

"I was just...er..." Wiggins glanced out at Sora again. He considered blabbing again, but he chose not to, instead pointing out another random observation. "I think Captain Smith has gone on another scouting venture. I don't see him anywhere."

"What?" Ratcliffe turned quickly to Pete. "Pete! You may reside in camp, but make those demons scarce!" Pete snapped his fingers without a thought and the single Shadow disappeared in that instant, following Ratcliffe out of the tent as he stormed down. to his men. "You there!"

Sora, having slipped back into work with Ben and Lon, glanced up at the approaching leaders, grimacing at the approaching Pete, who snidely smirked in return. "What is it, governor?" he asked, doing his best to ignore the fat cat in his presence.

"Where's Captain Smith?" Ratcliffe demanded of Lon, Ben, and Sora.

"Why he's-" Lon pointed right beside him, glancing at the same time to see that John was absent. "Gone!"

"Aye," Ben grumbled. "Your singing must have scared him off!"

"Then go get him, for heaven's sake!" Ratcliffe ordered.

"What about the Indians?" Lon asked, sounding quite concerned.

"That's what guns are for!" Ratcliffe said in a sweet, yet condescending tone before returning to his usual growl. "Arm yourselves and move out!

"Right!" Sora declared, dropping the shovel and turning tail, running out of the camp as fast as his large feet could carry him. The sooner he was away from Pete, the better. He knew Pete was about to cause a lot of trouble and wanted to be sure he could warn Steven in time.

As he was departing, however, Pete leaned over Ratcliffe's shoulder and whispered into the governor's ear. "By the way, you know how I been around many worlds? Well, I've seen that kid around them before and he's a troublemaker. Best keep an eye on him, keep him in camp from now on as much as possible."

Ratcliffe nodded gently to show he understood. By this point, he no longer cared for Sora's current record of resourcefulness. The fortunes that Pete were promising were beyond anything Sora had yet to produce so far. To him, it was no contest about whom to owe his allegiance.

* * *

At the camp of natives, warriors were reporting back successful alliances with other tribes. Like a battle fought not long ago, they would unite as one and drive out the enemy, just like they had the Massawomecks.

In the fields of corn, though, life went on as it usually had. Nakoma and Pocahontas were plucking the ripe corn from their stalks. The rain had been good the last few days and the crop flourished as a result.

"So when's it happening?" Nakoma inquired.

"When is what happening?" Pocahontas asked, truly clueless.

"The wedding," Nakoma answered. "And to whom are you getting married?"

"What?!" Pocahontas stumbled a bit, accidentally dumping the corn from her basket. She got to her hands and knees and briskly began picking it up.

"You think I wouldn't know?" Nakoma knelt beside her friend and starting helping her recover the corn. "Word is going around camp that Kocoum has asked your hand in marriage."

"Well, he has," Pocahontas admitted. "But I don't think I want to marry Kocoum. He's one of our greatest warriors, but he's so serious... my father loved my mother when they married. I want my marriage to be one like that."

"Oh..." Nakoma nodded gently. "So it _is_ Shakti, isn't it?"

"Nakoma!" Pocahontas blushed madly, getting quickly to her feet and stepping back.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of!" Nakoma teased, arranging the corn in her basket. "He's a nice guy, not to mention the strongest of the warriors." She leaned in closer to her friend, nudging her teasingly. "Don't tell him I said this, but I think he's kinda-"

"Pocahontas!"

The sound of her father's voice alerted Pocahontas. Thankful that she could drop the subject, she turned and faced the direction his voice came from as he parted some of the stalks, stepping through to see them. "You shouldn't be so far out," he said with a slight warning in his voice.

"We'll be all right," Pocahontas answered cheerfully. "Won't we, Nakoma?"

"Of course!" Nakoma agreed hastily, rising quickly to her feet with her basket of corn. "We're gathering food for when the warriors return."

"Don't go far," Powhatan chided a little more softly. "Now is not the time to be running off."

"Yes, father," Pocahontas agreed with a gentle nod and a smile.

Finally reassured, Powhatan let his stern demeanor melt into a smile. "When I see you wear that necklace, you look just like your mother."

Pocahontas fingered the charm formerly owned by her mother, sighing gently. "Sometimes, I really miss her. Do you miss her as much as I do?"

"Of course," Powhatan replied, but gestured to the air. "But she is still with us. Whenever the wind blows, I feel her presence." He placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "One day, the people will look to you for wisdom and strength, just like they once looked to her."

"That will honor me greatly," Pocahontas said, bowing her head.

"You two shouldn't be out here alone." Powhatan let his hands slip away and turned towards camp. "I will send for someone to protect you."

After he was gone, Nakoma shook her head gently. "Does he think that the minute he turns his head away, something will jump out of the corn to get us?" No sooner had she said this that a pale man in all blue and golden hair had slipped out from the field. Nakoma froze in place. "Pocahontas?" Her voice was cold and quiet, in fear. "Look!"

Pocahontas turned to see the figure that had emerged. "John?" she gasped gently. Before Nakoma had the chance to scream, she rushed over and covered Nakoma's mouth. "What are you doing here?" she whispered harshly.

"I had to see you again," John whispered back in urgency.

"Hmm?!" Nakoma squealed through Pocahontas' hand. At least, that's what it sounded like when muffled.

"Please don't say anything," Pocahontas pleaded with her friend before letting go of her. She took John's hand, leading him into the corn. "This way!"

"But-" Nakoma protested briefly.

"Nakoma?" The voice of Kocoum came through. The warrior entered moments later, accompanied by Steven. Nakoma let go of a breath she had been holding, as Pocahontas had just narrowly avoided getting caught. "Where is Pocahontas?"

"I..." Nakoma picked another husk of corn to make herself appear busy. "I haven't seen her," she answered quickly. A soft sigh from Kocoum told her that she had convinced him. "But if I do, I'll ask her not to wander off."

"Don't sweat it, Nakoma," Steven encouraged. "She's smart enough to know how to keep herself out of trouble."

"But she can't keep wandering off in times like this, Shakti," Kocoum reminded. "It's dangerous. As a warrior, you should know this. Have you already forgotten about Namontack?"

Steven raised his eyebrows at Kocoum. "What? How could I forget, Kocoum? I healed his wounds."

"And where were you when the battle was happening?" Kocoum retorted accusingly. "Where were you when you could have been somewhere to prevent such wounds from being dealt?

"Off with Pocahontas," Steven replied, his tone increasing in defense. He stepped away from Kocoum's side and turned to face his fellow warrior. Despite Steven's impressive height, he did not quite measure up to Kocoum. Behind him, Nakoma stepped away from the two and hid a couple of feet into the grass. She remained within earshot, watching in anticipation and worried for the sake of both of them as this discussion began to heat up.

"Doing something frivolous, I'm sure. A true warrior would have stayed ready whenever he knew he was needed!" Kocoum stepped towards Steven, who stepped back in response, neither breaking the stern eye contact that had ignited between them. "You may be more powerful than me because of your magic weapon, Shakti, but you do not posses the true heart of a warrior."

To keep himself calm, Steven turned away from Kocoum and took a few paces before stopping there, taking a deep breath. "You're a proud warrior, Kocoum. I won't deny that and I really do respect what you fight for." Steven turned his head to look at Kocoum. "But listen well: do _not_ tell me being too far from a fight to know about it, let alone join it, makes me a coward!"

"That is not the only coward's act you have committed," Kocoum shot back. "Your magic is a crutch, as well as a way of easily gaining more honor for yourself."

"Honor?" Steven scoffed, shaking his head and turning back in Kocoum's direction. "You think I'm- Wow..." He huffed and looked straight upon his adversary. "I accept glory, Kocoum. I don't go out looking for it like you do."

"Saving the chief and his daughter was not a glory-seeking act?" Kocoum's eyes narrowed. "You were granted a place among my people because of that act and your powers against these Heartless demons." Kocoum gripped his spear more tightly, lifting it from the ground and holding it at his waist. "The way you speak, it seems like you believe that your powers make you more capable of fighting them than warriors who have fought far longer than you have in your lifetime. Are you claiming that we could not fight them without you?"

Steven observed the drawn spear momentarily, then turned back to face his agitated comrade To keep his ground against Kocoum's drawn weapon, Steven summoned his Keyblade at his waist, though he did not make any further antagonizing movements with it. "The Heartless are scared of the Keyblade. With me on your side, they'll come after me instead of innocents who can't fight them like we can. And with this weapon's power, I can keep those people safe." He dismissed the blade, hoping Kocoum would start to back down peacefully as well. "Forgive me if I sound arrogant, but I've fought Heartless longer than anybody here. I know what they're like and I know that my presence has kept more people safe from them than the tribe's warriors could on their own."

Kocoum did not adjust the spear, only tightened his grip on it. He took steps towards Steven in an attempt to gain higher ground by closing the distance between them a little. "How dare you," he quietly snarled at him. "You deny glory-seeking, yet you claim your power against them is greater than ours."

Getting rather frustrated, Steven marched until he and Kocoum were merely a foot apart. "I don't care about having more power and I don't care about getting glory for it!" he argued. "I am grateful for this power because it lets me protect people! I sleep better at night just knowing these people are safe!" Steven closed his eyes and put his hands together, gathering his breath in an attempt to calm himself. Then he spoke again, more softly. "I can see you don't understand this, but can you please trust that my heart is in the right place here?"

Kocoum took another step up to Steven, looking as directly down upon the boy as he could. "I would like to," he admitted, his voice having softened as well. "However, both of our hearts have potential to earn the greatest of glories and we cannot both reach that destination in harmony."

"What are you talking about?" Steven asked, beginning to lose sense of what Kocoum was saying. It all became clear to him at the utterance of Kocoum's next word.

"Pocahontas."

Steven's eyes widened a bit as this sudden revelation took root in his mind. "Is that what this is about?"

Kocoum exhaled deeply. It seemed like he had been holding in a breath during that entire conversation. "It was me who asked for Pocahontas' hand in marriage. You were granted it because of your favor with the chief, but you are far too young. You would not be able to provide for her, take care of her the way a husband should. I am the great warrior of our tribe, as you yourself said."

"Life isn't all about war, though." Steven replied. "At some point, you're going to have to learn that." He turned away from Kocoum again, crossing his arms. "I don't want to argue this further, Kocoum. So I suggest we both walk away from this and cool our heads."

"I agree." Kocoum turned his back and walked in the other direction, muttering softly to avoid being heard by Steven. "Your head should feel as cold as your heart."

Despite not hearing it, Steven felt a slight chill and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He looked on as Kocoum departed, then looked at his hand. It was barely visible, only a flicker, but there was no mistaking it. Steven detected darkness nearby.

With a quick motion, he turned and summoned his Keyblade, which briefly attracted Kocoum's attention. "What is it?" the warrior called.

"I sense something nearby!" Steven warned, rotating his footing to see if anything was going to come at him. Were it a Heartless, they would be jumping at him within moments. He backed up near the corn, suddenly remembering Nakoma's presence there. He looked up, down, around, and in all directions he could perceive in a short amount of time.

Nothing appeared. "There's...nothing," Steven realized, dismissing his blade and waving off Kocoum. "No need to be alarmed."

Kocoum scoffed gently. "Who said I was alarmed?" He left after speaking those words.

Steven, meanwhile, was left in confusion on multiple things. This was truly the first Kocoum had spoken in length to him outside of battle.

"What a great first conversation that was," Steven mumbled to himself.

To his new understand, Kocoum had grown resentful because of Steven claiming a position in the tribe that he once held. Steven had unintentionally surpassed Kocoum's reputation as a warrior and had won the chief's favor over Kocoum in the matter of marrying Pocahontas. The worst issue of all was the hint of darkness that he had detected only moments ago. He knew it was not mistaken. It had never been mistaken before.

_Only Heartless, and me, have triggered it before,_ Steven thought, fingering his chin as he worked out this conundrum. _Maybe there's another source of darkness here. Maybe a darker being has arrived, or-_

"Shakti?" Nakoma finally stepped from where she had hidden. "Are you alright?" Steven turned to face her, his eyes a little wide with worry. To Nakoma, who gasped upon the sight, it almost looked as if Steven had seen some kind of evil spectre. She stepped up and looked into his eyes. "Shakti?" Then Steven closed his eyes and exhaled softly, giving Nakoma a hug. Nakoma smiled gently, feeling that his calm was returning, and gave him a hug in return. "Are you alright?" she repeated.

Steven let go and looked back to camp, where Kocoum was headed. He looked at his hand once more and let his mind wander again to his thoughts about the flash of darkness he had sensed only a moment ago. Whatever thought had crossed his mind would not leave so soon and would now leave him wary for some time.

"I certainly hope so," he mused. Then he turned back to face Nakoma quickly. "So where _did_ Pocahontas go?"

"I haven't-" Nakoma began, but did not finish as Steven raised an eyebrow. Nakoma studied him for a moment, then decided to spill the beans. "Don't tell her I told you, but..." Her voice dropped to whisper and she leaned up to his ear. "I saw her running off with one of the pale invaders."

"Uh-huh..." Steven nodded, not at all surprised. "Did this settler, by chance, have wavy blond hair and wore blue over most of his body?"

"Yes!" Nakoma gasped. "How did you-?"

"I've met him," Steven answered, widening Nakoma's eyes once again. "And a good friend of mine is over there too." He patted her head gently. "They're not evil, Nakoma. If these two are any indication, we shouldn't have anything to worry about." He took a few steps into the corn stalks to head off and search for them.

* * *

**THANK YOU FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY!**

A/N: As always, I apologize for the long wait in between chapters. To those of who sticking with the story, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy my latest offering. I had a lot of fun writing this one and I hope I can finish the next one a lot faster than I have the last two.


	29. Deceptive Instigation

Contrary to his usual method of traveling to speak to the mystic tree called Grandmother Willow, Steven opted to climb among other trees near the site to advance towards it. During his time here, this kind of maneuvering had gotten a lot easier. Despite being relatively used to walking, a lot more was needed here. As such, Steven decided to learn the more fun ways of getting around.

He approached Willow's branches with caution. He climbed down a few levels on the tree he currently stood on and reached out, brushing them carefully to let her know he had arrived. Upon realization of his presence, several branches bunched together to form a flat, platform-like surface. Steven climbed onto this bunch of branches carefully, laying across it comfortably. After he was secure, the branches descended very slowly towards the stump before the trunk, giving Steven a view of Pocahontas and John, who were walking towards the tree. They were already in the middle of a conversation, so the branches stopped a good deal overhead, allowing Steven to observe.

"I must say, Pocahontas, this place is truly amazing." John sat on the trunk, sighing gently. "It makes a man not want to dig it up for gold after all."

"What's gold?" Pocahontas asked, tilting her head.

"It's...yellow," John attempted to explain. "And it comes out of the ground. It's very valuable."

"Oh!" Pocahontas smiled, reaching into a satchel she had taken with her upon fleeing the corn fields. She pulled one of the corn husks out and handed it to John, peeling it back so he could see the food within. "We have lots of that!"

John chuckled at Pocahontas' naivety, putting the corn in his satchel. "No, no," he replied, reaching into his pocket. He presented a compass to her. "Gold is this."

A confused expression crossed Pocahontas' face at the sight of the round, metal object that was presented to her. "I've never seen that around here before," she said.

"No gold, huh?" John tossed the instrument aside, letting it rest at the base of the tree. "Well, some of the men will be in for a disappointment when they find out we came all this way for nothing."

"Will they leave after they find out?" Pocahontas asked, a little hopeful.

John shrugged. "Some might go back, some might stay."

"Will _you_ go home?" Pocahontas seemed almost worried that John would answer with a 'yes'. At least, she was until he spoke.

"I have no home to go back to," John admitted, his eyes rolling downward. "I go on adventures, but I haven't found a place I can call 'home'. Right now, there's nowhere in the world that I truly belong."

"You could belong here," Pocahontas suggested with a smile.

John sat up, looking into Pocahontas' eager eyes. After a few seconds of this, he smiled back at her. "I think I might like that idea." The two slowly began to ease towards each other, their gazes seeming to attract the two together.

Steven leaned over edge of the branch platform he was supported on and watched, a sly smile on his face. _Go get him, Pocahontas,_ he spoke within his mind. Then the branches pulled away. It was abrupt enough to throw Steven off-balance, leaving only a fall ahead of him. "Aah!" he yelled as he plummeted and splashed into the water.

It broke the trance-like state that John and Pocahontas had found themselves in and the two turned to the water to see him arise. "Shakti?" Pocahontas gasped softly.

Steven put his hands on the edge of the stump and pulled himself up. His legs remained submerged while his hands kept the rest of his body upright. "Hey guys...did I interrupt something?"

A soft, familiar cackle began to come from the tree, causing John's eyes to go very wide. The image of Grandmother Willow began to present itself in the knot of the tree trunk. John stumbled back, his hands keeping his back from the ground as he stared up what he was certain was some kind of crazy mirage.

"My apologies, dear," Willow said, watching Steven climb out of the water. "But to catch you unaware like that was too perfect an opportunity!"

"Some trick, Grandmother!" Steven called up, shaking some of the water out of his hair. "You're lucky it's impossible for me to get angry with you."

"Oh, I'm shaking down in my roots!" Willow chortled in response.

"Pocahontas?" John muttered nervously. "That tree is talking."

"Nice of you to notice," Willow responded. "Hello, John Smith." She wasn't met with a response for a few seconds, as John couldn't muster what words he would say. "Don't be frightened. My bark is worse than my bite."

"Well, go on," Steven coaxed, nodding towards Willow. "I know it's weird your first time, but talking to a tree isn't hard."

"Come closer, dear," Willow requested to John, who got to his feet and stepped forward. The branches hanging behind him pushed him even closer, giving the two very close eye contact. John felt as if the tree was staring into his soul. "He has a good soul, I must say." Well, that just confirmed his thoughts. "And he's handsome too~" Willow added with a small smirk.

John beamed a little. "Oh, I definitely like you."

Pocahontas hugged John at his right shoulder, smiling. "I knew you would."

"Just be careful there, John," Steven warned, moving to John's left shoulder. "This is the nice in-law you get to meet."

"John!" A voice called from ahead, approaching from behind Willow and coming from the direction of John's camp. "Steven?"

"Sora!" Steven called. "We're up here!"

"Steven!" Sora began to go faster, Willow's branching parting for him as he entered the vicinity. "We've got some trouble!"

"Whoa, calm down!" Steven held up his hands, slowing Sora's pace and getting him to stand in one spot. Sora took a moment to catch his breath. "Take it easy, Sora...now what's going on?"

"Pete's here!" Sora answered urgently. "And what's worse, he's gotten in Governor Ratcliffe's good graces."

"Well that's just great," Steven replied, letting one arm drop to his side and scratching his head with the other. "See any Heartless around?"

"Not yet," Sora replied. "But if I know Pete, it's only a matter of time. Even then, there won't be very much."

"I've got a couple problems of my own back at camp," Steven admitted.

"What's happening?" Sora asked. "Is the tribe getting ready to fight the settlers?"

"Well, there's that, but there's something else too." Steven seethed a little bit with regret. "We may have a little bit of jealousy going on." He looked to Pocahontas. "Kocoum is a little peeved that I won your father's favor as far as marriage is concerned," Steven explained. "He confronted me in the corn field just after you left...it didn't end pleasantly."

"Marriage?" John looked at Pocahontas. "What's he talking about?"

"My father wants me to marry and take my place among our people," Pocahontas replied. "But I didn't want to marry Kocoum, so he suggested that I join with Shakti."

"But we're not!" Steven quickly clarified. "I'm even less ready to marry than she is. So she's all yours, John."

"Hold your horses!" John retorted, his cheeks flushing a little.

"Oh, stop it!" Willow chimed in. "Don't even try to deny it, you two!"

"Yeah!" Sora agreed, nudging John's shoulder a little bit. "You guys make a great couple. Don't try to deny it when everybody else can see it right before their eyes."

Steven stared incredulously at Sora for a few seconds, though Sora was oblivious to this. After a moment, he shook his head. _More important things are going on now,_ he reminded himself. _I'll chastise Sora when the time is right._ He tugged his friend's arm in the direction behind Willow's tree. "We're gonna talk some things out over here. You guys keep doing...well, whatever couples do." Pocahontas blushed a little, but nodded to him. John, not about to complain about this opportunity, sat beside Pocahontas and struck up another conversation as the two boys stepped away.

"So what are we going to do?" Sora wondered aloud. "Pete's here, which means Heartless are probably going to multiply before long."

"I don't suppose we could just run to camp and take him out now?" Steven suggested frankly.

"We can't do that," Sora affirmed, shaking his head. "Not yet."

"Why not?" Steven questioned. "I've got my civilian clothes piled in the corner of my tent. I could run back, change into them, and we could take care of it." Sora's stance didn't waver and he shook his head again. "But he's the enemy!"

"I know, but the rest of the settlers aren't," Sora reminded his friend. "With Pete on Ratcliffe's good side, we can't do anything until Pete makes a move that shows his true colors." Despite the logic he was presenting, Sora could tell Steven was peeved that they couldn't act. "I want to take care of him as much as you do, Steven. I'll have to be in the same camp with Pete for a while. How do you think I feel about that?"

Steven thought for a moment, then a chuckle escaped him. A soft glare from Sora shut him up though. "Sorry...it's a funny thought at first. You have my utmost sympathy."

"I'll just think about how we're gonna take him down," Sora decided with a smile. "That'll keep me going."

"Soooora!"

Sora turned his head, then turned back. "That's Pete. Hide!" he cried in a hushed whisper. He walked quietly, but quickly. Steven followed suit, gesturing to Pocahontas and John to duck behind the front side of Grandmother Willow. They edged out of site as the bumbling fat cat made his way through Willow's branches, still calling out names.

"Sora! Johnny Boy!" Pete scanned left and right, but could not spot them anywhere in his line of sight. "Listen up, men! If you can hear me, the Governor wants you to come back to camp! So get your keisters in gear and- OOF!" The next second, Pete was sprawled on his front.

One of Willow's roots had risen from the ground, tripping Pete up. He sat up quickly, his face scrunched in pain. "Dooh, my face!" he lamented. "Darn this tree and its giant roots." He turned back to curse the root, but was instead just in time to see it lower itself back into the ground. Pete gulped softly. "Well, I can't find the two of them, so I'd best be getting off." Pete stepped carefully around the root that he had tripped on, only to have a branch snap at his very large rear. "OUCH!" He jumped up in the air, making a light tremor in the area as he landed and began to run as fast as his short legs could carry that round body of his. "This forest gives me the creeps!"

On the other side, Steven and Sora were covering each other's mouths tightly in fear that either of them might make a sound when listening to Pete. As soon as he was out of earshot, the two erupted with laughter.

"You call that guy a threat?" Steven shook his head as his laughter subsided. He gave a gentle pat of approval to the trunk of the tree. "Way to show him, Grandmother!"

Willow smirked, twirling her thinner branches. "There's still some snap in these old vines!" she cackled, very pleased with herself.

"Come on, Sora," John said, a little bit of urgency in his voice. "We'd better get back before the whole camp comes looking for us."

Sora took a moment to calm himself, taking a few breaths as the laughter subsided. "Okay," he agreed, turning to Steven as John bid Pocahontas farewell. "Let's all come back here tonight and we'll talk more about what we'll do next."

"Okay." Steven nodded, giving Sora and John a couple of quick nods in farewell.

The two quickly disappeared through into the forest, leaving Pocahontas and Steven alone with Willow, who shook her branches in what was clearly excitement. "What a day this has been," she observed happily. "I haven't had that much excitement since Shakti first showed up here."

Pocahontas sank to a sitting position, holding some of her hair in her hands as thoughts of worry filled her head. "What am I doing?" she questioned. "I don't think I should be seeing him."

"Why not?" Steven asked, sitting across from her. "You obviously like him a lot, right?" Pocahontas nodded. "And do you want to see him again?" She nodded again.

"Who wouldn't?" Willow agreed. "_I_ want to see him again."

Steven glanced at Willow with a raised eyebrow before shrugging it off and speaking to Pocahontas. "So what is it in you that's telling you you shouldn't?"

"Not the inside," Pocahontas explained. "The outside. The visitors and our people are at odds with each other, even if there hasn't been very much fighting yet." She put a hand to her chest and lowered her gaze a bit. "But inside, seeing him feels...right."

"Perhaps it's your dream," Willow suggested.

"My dream..." Pocahontas got to her feet in excitement. "Do you think he is the one the spinning arrow was pointing to?"

Steven shrugged his shoulders. "Could be." He got to his feet, looking into Pocahontas' eyes. "Forgive me for sounding more like Sora than myself here, but a heart as good as yours will always lead you to the right place. You should trust it."

Pocahontas smiled at Steven before giving him a gentle hug. "Thank you, Shakti."

Steven patted her back, smiling as well. "You're welcome." He nodded his head in another direction. "Come on. We'd better get back to camp."

* * *

Sitting at the table in his tent, Ratcliffe felt things starting to fall into place. Though the gold appeared nowhere near within his grasp, he was now in possession of the means to get rid of the natives that stood in the way of gaining his fortune. Before him, a Heartless twitched obediently in place. It stood on its hind legs adorned in a protective tunic as well as the standard helmet that his men wore. It also carried a smaller form of rifle.

"Fascinating," he mused.

Pete stood a few steps to the side of the Heartless, beaming from the approval his creation was receiving. "I knew you'd like 'em."

Ratcliffe nodded. "Demons that they are, our equipment makes this one almost look like it could be of this world. Is this how the Heartless blend in?"

"Most are born a certain way depending on where they're from," Pete explained. "This is one of my special creations."

Ratcliffe got to his feet, eagerly envisioning the use the Heartless could be to him. "And you can make more of them?"

"As many as you need," Pete promised. He held up a finger, prompting some hesitation from Ratcliffe. "But for ones like these, I'll need the equipment to back it up."

"That could be a problem," Ratcliffe answered. "We have a limited surplus of weapons. I cannot afford to make too many of these special ones."

Pete put his hands on his hips, slightly irritated. "Well, if you're gonna make me put forth the effort of making 'em, you'd better have a job for 'em to do."

Ratcliffe put a hand to his chin. "You mentioned that Sora has been a problem to you before. What threat is a mere boy such as he?"

"He trips me up everywhere I go," Pete grumbled. "There's a bit you don't know about Sora...he's got this special weapon. It's called a Keyblade, which he can summon and send away whenever he needs to. That weapon spells death for these Heartless and there's no telling what he'd do if he found out you're using them."

"He is under my command," Ratcliffe reasoned. "He has proven himself thus far, but I'll have him tried for treason if he steps out of line."

"You'd make an enemy out of him," Pete warned. "Even against all your men, that kid ain't a pushover. You want him to keep in line? You gotta work around him somehow."

"But I need these creatures to get those savages out of the way!" Ratcliffe growled, pounding the table with his hand. He took a bit of a breath as he gathered his thoughts. "Or maybe I don't..." His eyes opened up. "Perhaps all I need these Heartless to do is convince Sora that the savages are truly an enemy worth fighting against..." He smirked gently as another plan came together in his head. "Create a few more of Heartless that look like these. Tell them to find the native camp and steal some of their weapons and supplies."

"Why do you want 'em to do that?" Pete questioned curiously.

"You'll create more Heartless in the guise of the savages," Ratcliffe demanded. "At the right time, you will unleash them upon Sora. Even if he manages to defeat them, it will force him to see those heathens the same way I do. He will be completely on my side."

Pete smiled widely. He chuckled a bit. His laughter continued to grow until it was booming within the tent. "Brilliant idea, Governor!"

In the corner of the tent, Wiggins nervously gulped at everything he had heard.

* * *

"There you are!"

Nakoma's voice drew the attention of Steven and Pocahontas as they neared the edge of camp. She advanced towards them and crossed her arms, lowering her voice to that of a harsh whisper. "What on earth were you thinking running off with that man?"

"Didn't you hear me before I left?" Steven reminded bluntly. "I told you: we have nothing to worry about from those people. One of them was a friend that I knew before I became part of your tribe, so I know he's good. The one you saw in the fields is trustworthy, too."

"This is crazy..." Nakoma shook her head a bit while her hands held it in disbelief. "We're on the verge of war, you two!"

"But we can talk to them!" Pocahontas assured.

"It might be too late for talking," Nakoma admitted dimly. She tugged their hands and led them into camp, dragging them all the way near the shore where several canoes had been left on the beach. Emerging from them were men who looked similar to members of their own tribe, though with subtle differences in the tribal markings on their clothes and skin.

"You gotta be kidding me," Steven muttered. This sight was exactly the opposite of what he was hoping would happen.

"There you are, Shakti!" Kocoum approached the group from behind, planting his spear in the ground at his side. "Our brother tribes have joined us. Now we will be able to chase these invaders from our lands!"

"No," Pocahontas whispered, rushing for the opening of the chief's tent, where several other chiefs were entering. Steven followed closely behind her, leaving Nakoma and Kocoum both in a state of perplexity.

"Father!" Pocahontas called out.

Powhatan stopped at the entrance of his tent, the last in line of the procession of chiefs. "Not now, daughter," he dismissed. "The council is gathering."

"Wait, Chief Powhatan!" Steven came up at Pocahontas' shoulder. "We don't have to fight the invaders!"

"You are a great warrior, Shakti," Powhatan said. "But you must learn that our paths are chosen for us sometimes, even paths that lead to war."

"Please, listen!" Steven pleaded with his chief. "I lived among people like them once. I can speak like they do. Let me try talking to them!"

"They do not want to talk," Powhatan dictated.

Steven opened his mouth to speak again, but a certain chill down his spine kept his words from being spoken. As he stepped away, Pocahontas kept pressing the issue with her father. "But if one wanted to talk, you would listen, wouldn't you?"

Powhatan's patience was starting to fade. "Pocahontas-"

"Wouldn't you?" she repeated.

Looking into his daughter's eyes and hearing the hopeful words she was speaking, Powhatan allowed himself to calm a little in her presence. "Of course I would," he promised. "If only it were that simple, but nothing is simple anymore. That is why I must ask you not to leave camp again. Stay here, where it's safe."

A few steps away, Steven was staring down at his hand. For the first time in a few days, he had sensed Heartless. This alert felt stronger than the other ones, though. The aura was darker than before and it persisted longer. He looked around warily, looking for his target. Sure enough, atop the chief's tent, he spotted a Heartless.

"Look out!" he cried. He summoned his Keyblade, signaling to Pocahontas and Powhatan to retreat inside the tent. The Heartless angrily bounded for him, holding some kind of weapon in its hand that it swung at Steven, who deflected it with his Keyblade. The Heartless shuffled away from Steven quickly and held its weapon up. That's when Steven realized the Heartless held a gun and also wore a helmet strikingly similar to John's. A thought ran through Steven's head, but the fight didn't allow him to ponder on it yet.

"Reflect!" he cried, putting up a barrier that absorbed the rifle's shot. Then he put both hands on his Keyblade and rushed forward, dueling briefly with the Heartless before he was able to knock the gun away. After that, he thrust his Keyblade into the creature's chest. He held it there for a moment, then pulled it out. Toppling over, the Heartless faded into a single heart floating into the air while its helmet clattered to the ground.

"Shakti!" Kocoum called. "They're in the camp!" The warrior turned back to his work, piercing one Heartless with his spear, then flinging it at Steven. Taking the hint, Steven leaped at it in mid-air and cut the monster apart with a single his bearings, Steven rushed into the camp.

_Gotta keep them focused on me and the warriors,_ he reminded himself.

While sparring with another stray Heartless, Steven could spot a small pack completely ignoring the rest of the tribe. Save for the ones fighting the warriors, the pack headed into the war tent where tribal weapons and paint were kept. Curious as that was, he had to keep his head in the fight.

So it was that distraction that allowed the small pack of four to exit the tent without any conflict, making off with five spears and two jars of paint, white and red. Once they neared the woods and were beyond the threshold of the camp, orbs of darkness surrounded them and they vanished into thin air.

The other warriors became still, confused as the remaining Heartless vanished in the same fashion. The women and children hesitantly came out of the tents as soon as they could tell that things were okay. The warriors stood in the middle of them while Steven was left almost in the exact center of the aftermath. He could feel dozens of gazes upon him all at once. Glancing behind him briefly, the harshest one came from Kocoum. The harshness was not in anger at Steven's optimism, however. It was a plain look, one that demanded admittance from Steven about the issue at hand.

As the tribe parted and Powhatan stepped into the camp with a few other chiefs, Steven couldn't deny that admittance. The Heartless that attacked them were the spitting images of the threat that the settlers posed to the camp, right down to the weapons they carried and the armor they wore. John may have been a good man, but the rest of the men who had come here looking for gold were unspoken for and the evidence painting them as the worst of men was now stacked too high for him to simply convince the tribe otherwise.

So he turned to face Powhatan, forcing himself to look his chief in the eyes, and took a knee. Kocoum followed suit. The other warriors joined one by one in this gesture of loyalty. No words needed speaking among themselves about what should be done. War was coming and they were ready to fight.

Still, when the tribe dispersed and returned to their work, Steven waited a moment. Sure enough, Pocahontas approached him. The could see it in each other's eyes that they both felt trapped by the situation at hand. Like the bow the warriors had taken, no words needed speaking. Inversely, they both knew that if the situation was to be amended, they needed to talk to Sora and John again.

Tonight.

* * *

A good distance from either camp, Pete lurked in the forest. He waited, albeit less patiently than one ought to. He broke a few stray sticks simply from frustration, though he glanced over his shoulder with each one to make sure that none of the other trees were able to lash out at him.

However, the moment he waited for arrived, making him a little giddy. He was surrounded by dark orbs, through which his special Heartless entered. They dropped the spears and paint at their master's feet. Without further ado, Pete snapped his fingers, dismissing them. Then he snapped twice more, summoning a new batch of Heartless to him, six Neo-Shadows. He picked up the jars of paint and flung it at the Heartless. They all shuddered a bit from the impact of paint, but recovered just fine. In their claws, each of them took up a spear.

"All right, Heartless," Pete began. "On my signal, got it?" He snapped his fingers again and the Heartless vanished into the void to await their next calling. Pete ducked behind a tall and thick bush, watching as Sora and John walked towards their camp.

Thomas paced monotonously back and forth at the western entrance to the camp. Ratcliffe had set him up on guard duty in order to, as Ratcliffe put it, learn to shoot correctly or die trying. Condescending as that sentiment was, no natives had approached camp since then and he was getting bored of walking the same patch of dirt for hours on end when nothing was likely to happen.

Then a tree's branches rustled a little, which put Thomas at attention. He shook his head a little to shake himself out of his dull state and aimed his gun. A moment later, Sora stepped into sight, quickly holding up his hands.

"Whoa, Thomas! It's just us!" From behind Sora, John emerged as well.

"Oh Lord..." Thomas sighed heavily, lowering his weapon. "Goodness, Sora. I could have killed you!"

"Not aiming like that," John chided cheerfully. He walked beside Thomas and lifted the gun to the boy's shoulders, pointing out at the forest. "Keep both eyes open when you shoot. You'll see twice as well."

Sora walked ahead of John to re-enter the camp, meaning he was the first to be barraged with questions from the camp.

"There you are, lad!" Ben bellowed. "We've been looking all over for you!"

"Awful late for you to be out there looking for John," Lon chastised. "And where is he, anyhow?"

"Someone say my name?" John stepped into camp with Thomas, waving. "At ease, men. I'm just fine."

"Sora! Smith!" From his tent, Ratcliffe marched forward in the direction of Sora and John. "Where have you two been?"

"Scouting the terrain, sir!" John lied simply. "Sorry you had to send Sora out after me, but I had to be thorough."

"Good work, then," Ratcliffe complimented. "Then you must know the Indian's whereabouts. We'll need that information for the battle."

Sora tensed at the sound of that word. "Battle?" he repeated.

"Yes!" Ratcliffe declared. "We will eliminate these heathens once and for all!"

Sora shook his head firmly. "No!" he cried incredulously. "You can't do that!"

Ratcliffe narrowed his eyes at Sora. "Can't I?" The other men grew inquisitive as well.

"What's gotten into you, lad?" Ben demanded to know.

John stepped in to back Sora up. "We don't have to fight them. Sora and I have met two of them that we can talk with."

"What?" Thomas scoffed. "You've talked with savages?"

"They aren't savages!" John retorted. "They can help us! They can navigate the land and the rivers better than we can. And look at this." He pulled the ear of corn from his bag, peeling back the husk. "It's food!"

"What's that?" Lon puzzled, tilting his head.

"It's delicious, especially after three months of hardtack and gruel," Sora informed.

"I like gruel," Wiggins chimed in meekly from behind Ratcliffe.

"Not to mention it's the closest thing to gold we're going to find here," John replied, eliciting a few shocked gasps. "I'm sorry men, but it's true. There isn't any gold here."

"No gold?" Ratcliffe spat at the ground. "Did your savage friends tell you this?"

"They're _not_ savages!" Sora argued, his irritation with Ratcliffe growing. "One of them is a friend of mine who's learned to live among them. He trusts them and I trust him." He crossed his arms firmly as he spoke to Ratcliffe. "I'm sorry, Governor, but I'm only speaking the truth."

Ratcliffe seethed for a moment, then he stormed over and took the corn from John. "Those liars don't want to feed us! They want to kill us! There is no place for those people in civilized society!" He threw the corn down at Sora's feet, glaring intensely at the Keybearer. "I am sorry, Sora, but that includes your little friend as well."

"Sir, listen!" John demanded. "Sora and I can speak to them. The least you can do is find a way to live in peace with them!"

"AAAAH!"

A scream sounded, a scream that Sora recognized instantly as Pete's. The fat cat bumbled into camp, running as fast as his legs would carry him. To Sora's surprise, they carried him at a pretty good pace. "They're coming!" he cried out. "Savages!" That was the last word he spoke before taking refuge in Ratcliffe's tent. The instant the word 'savages' was spoken, however, the other men were instantly cued to arm themselves with guns.

Sora and John stayed where they were, their eyes wide with shock.

"Pete has to be lying," Sora said to himself.

"This can't be happening," John murmured.

The entrance of the camp gave them a clear view to the approaching threat. Sora peered out, instantly recognizing the danger for what it actually was. "Heartless!" he cried out. Instantly filled with relief, he summoned his Keyblade and waited mere moments. As they got closer, his stomach plummeted a bit again. Though they weren't the natives, these Heartless were painted and armed with wooden spears, just like the natives.

Either way, Sora prepared for his enemy. "Everyone get back!" he warned. This proved to be an easy task. Having summoned his Keyblade, the men were in enough bewilderment to stay away. The fact that they weren't eager to face Heartless again helped that sentiment.

So Sora stood against five Heartless on his own. First, three stood back and charged him with their spears. Sora swiped his blade upward, batting the stone points of the spears up with the strike. He knocked both of the Heartless to the ground, only to be surrounded from three sides by the other ones. Each of them alternated jabbing at Sora, who had to weave his way back and forth between the spear points.

"Ow!" Sora rubbed his shoulder, where one had managed to poke him. He lifted his blade up in the air. "Thunder!" he yelled. On cue, the magic lightning came down around him, zapping the three Heartless out of commission for a few moments. Not about to let them have another poke at him, Sora smashed them against the ground with his Keyblade, where they vanished one by one.

The remaining two that Sora had knocked aside before got back up and charged at Sora again. Standing perfectly still for a few moments, Sora jumped barely of their way, nearly sending the two colliding with each other. As they hesitated, Sora swung to the left, then the right, obliterating both of them and standing alone once again.

Silence took the camp. The men were awestruck. Wiggins peered out from behind Ratcliffe, trembling with fear. Ratcliffe was beaming with approval.

Then the tent flap opened up slightly and Pete stepped out, clapping in a slow, dramatic fashion. "Well, well, well," he spoke with a feigned pride as he walked towards Sora. "Didn't I tell you, Governor?" He stood beside Sora, clapping him on the back. "Didn't I tell you that he'd be more than a match for the demons the Indians would send our way?"

Sora grew very angry in that instant, but he knew he couldn't lose his cool in front of the men. He glared up at Pete. "_You_ did this!" he hissed so that only Pete could hear. "They may not see through you, but you can't fool me."

"Well let me tell you something, son." Ignoring Sora's fist clenching upon being called 'son', Pete continued to drawl. "Them's the only ones I need to convince. I just needed that little demonstration to reel 'em in." He leaned down and whispered into Sora's ear. "Thanks for the help."

Sora had never wanted to hit something with his Keyblade so badly. The only thing keeping him from wailing on Pete right here and now was the fact that he had protected the camp from Heartless, even if they were Pete's. In the meantime, Pete's recommendation for him hadn't fallen on deaf ears. Ratcliffe marched forward with an energetic stride to his step.

"Sora!" he announced, sounding much more pleased with the boy than he had been only minutes ago. "I've misjudged you. Though I took you for the child that you appear to be, I can see that your credentials have not been falsified. You are indeed the capable fighter you promised me you'd be." He leaned down to look Sora more directly in the face, his expression lacking just enough sincerity for Sora to know that he was being played. "I trust that you now see that these savages are walking an evil path and that war is unavoidable?"

Sora's breathing increased in volume with his frustration. In one fell swoop, Pete had destroyed any chance of the settlers talking peace with the Indians. War was inevitable and with the Heartless behaving that way, Sora didn't even know if he was on the right side anymore.

Still, he crossed his arms, nodding to Ratcliffe. "Tomorrow," he replied. "We should rest for a while and build up our energy."

"Right, then!" Ratcliffe turned to the men. "At sundown, head to the barracks. At daybreak, we attack!" The men cheered proudly at the news of a battle. The mundane and fruitless search for gold would be replaced by a battle with savages.

Ratcliffe relished in this secret triumph of his and he kept building the victory by marching coyly up to John, feigning sympathy once again. "I am so very sorry to disappoint you in saying this, Smith." He leaned in closer, whispering. "The savages are the enemy."

"But..." John searched for words and came up with only one plea. "But this is their land."

"This is _my_ land," Ratcliffe corrected. "I make the laws here. Everyone!" he called to the other men. "I have a new decree to share with you. The savages are our enemy now. They are to be shot on sight. If there is anybody who disobeys this creed, they shall be tried for treason and hanged. Are we clear?"

"AYE!" The men had never sounded so united than when they expressed that enthusiasm. As they returned to their duties around camp, namely gathering their weapons, Sora and John stepped off to the side, lowering their voices as they spoke.

"This doesn't make any sense," John whispered. "I've seen your friend and Pocahontas. If there's any paint on them, it's neat. Those things looked like someone just threw paint at them. The Indians can't be using Heartless."

"They're not," Sora informed. "That guy, Pete? He's the source. He's the one commanding the Heartless."

"We've got to tell Ratcliffe!" John urged.

Sora glanced at the tent, shaking his head. "No. Ever since Pete arrived, Ratcliffe was completely in his pocket. He wants the gold and he'll do anything to get it, even if it means forcing a war."

"But there is no gold!" John emphasized. "Pocahontas told us so!"

"Can you get Ratcliffe to believe that?" Sora asked. John opened his mouth a little, though he was stuck in silence for a moment. He sighed, shaking his head. "We have to go talk to them tonight. We have to tell them what's going on."

"And what do we do then?" John asked.

Sora looked at Pete. "He'll make a move soon," he spoke, a sureness in his voice. "I just hope he does it soon so I can act before someone gets hurt."

* * *

Night descended. The full moon hung overhead. Sleep had claimed the entire tribe.

Pocahontas ran along the woven wall of the camp, slipping between one of the entrances near the corn fields. Now that she was here, she needed merely slip into the fields and get out of sight. She paused momentarily and glanced back at the entrance to her camp.

Steven stood there with a somewhat sunken face. "Your father has me on guard duty," he grumbled. "Since the Heartless have found the camp, I guess I can't blame him." He looked up at her with concern. "Will you be okay out there?"

"Out where?" Steven turned to face Nakoma, who had her arms crossed and who looked very cross herself. "You're going to them again, aren't you?"

"Nakoma, listen!" Pocahontas urged.

"No, you listen!" Nakoma stormed up to her friend and took hold of her wrists. "I lied for you once. Don't ask me to do it again."

"I'll be fine," Pocahontas promised, trying to step away. Nakoma's grip didn't let up.

"Pocahontas!" Nakoma's tone grew more firm. "If you go out there, you'd be turning your back on your people." She turned to Steven. "And you would be doing the same by not protecting her."

"I'm trying to help my people!" Pocahontas explained.

Steven stepped up and placed a hand on Nakoma's shoulder. "She'll be okay out there," he said. "I want to go out there, but her father has be guarding the camp."

"So who's going to protect her then?" Nakoma demanded to know.

"She won't need protection," Steven answered. "I trust the people we know over there.

"And what if the other men show up and take her?" Nakoma inquired. Her tone grew more pleading than demanding as she refocused on Pocahontas. "Pocahontas, you're my best friend. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Pocahontas stepped away from Nakoma, looking at her firmly. "I know what I'm doing."

Nakoma advanced. "Pocahontas, no!"

It was for nothing, though. Pocahontas was already deep into the field, Nakoma was left there exasperated. Pocahontas was venturing into potentially dangerous territory without Steven. If something did go awry, who would be there to watch over her?

She re-entered camp and her answer presented itself. Kocoum stood outside his tent, tending to a fire to keep himself warm on this night. In times of war, the man was often known for having the true blood of a warrior. Now that a war was inevitable, he was filled with so much vigilance that sleep couldn't defeat him.

Nothing could.

"Kocoum?" Nakoma walked up to him.

"What is it?" Kocoum asked, not even glancing up.

Nakoma took a deep breath. "It's Pocahontas," she revealed.

"What?" Kocoum got to his feet. "Is she alright?"

"Yes..." Nakoma nodded, though hesitant. "She's not in camp. I think she may be in trouble."

Without another word, Kocoum sprinted in the direction of the corn fields. As he passed through the entrance, a voice sounded.

"Where are you going?" Kocoum turned to face Steven.

"Pocahontas is not in camp," Kocoum answered. "I'm going out to look for her."

Steven's eyes widened, convincingly faking surprise. "I'll go!" he quickly tried to urge.

"No," Kocoum declined. "You are best suited to fight the black demons if they show up again." Steven raised his eyebrows at the statement, to which Kocoum spoke more gently. "I know we have disagreements, Shakti. But we are on the brink of war. We must put those differences aside and do what is best for all of our people."

Steven found himself practically speechless at the sudden admittance of Kocoum. He managed to gather a few words of caution for his fellow warrior. "Listen...Pocahontas has a good heart." He spoke slowly and carefully. "She goes down a path that is very much her own..." He looked up at Kocoum, speaking in a stern, yet calm manner. "I don't want to take that from her...even if the path leads away from marrying either of us."

At the last phrase, Kocoum tensed up a bit. "What are you saying?" he asked, a little more harshly than his previous words.

"Just...don't interfere unless she is in danger of being attacked," Steven finished.

Kocoum's eyes narrowed at Steven and he turned away, running at a comfortable pace into the corn fields to try and find Pocahontas.

Upon his departure, Steven quickly ran through the camp, glancing wherever he could. He had felt a chill in his body, namely his hand. Since that was his inner alarm to Heartless, he looked as quickly as he could, holding his Keyblade out just in case.

After a few minutes of searching, he returned to his post, relieved and confused. If there were no Heartless coming, then what had caused the darkness?

Thinking back to when his darkness had alerted him, he realized that he was speaking to Kocoum at the time. He was warning Kocoum about Pocahontas going down a path that led away from them.

From _him_.

"Oh no," Steven muttered. Last time he had spoken to Kocoum about Pocahontas, he had received a similar warning and dismissed it. A second warning told him that his hunch was coming to reality. He sprinted into the corn field, running to where he knew he might find Pocahontas. He only hoped he wasn't too late.

* * *

After resting patiently in the tent, John became convinced that true stealth was the only way to sneak away from camp. He would have alerted Sora, but the poor fellow had been assigned strict guard duty in case more Heartless showed up. What's more, Ratcliffe had Pete guarding Sora to make sure he didn't desert his post.

John, however, had simply retired to his tent early, freeing Ratcliffe from concern. He walked quietly through the camp, escaping the notice of the men sitting around the fire. As he stealthily maneuvered, he could overhear some of their conversation.

"What if Smith is right? Maybe there is no gold," Lon offered.

"If you ask me, Ratcliffe is a bit dodgy," one of the brown-haired soldiers pointed out. "Throwing in his lot with that Pete? The fat load's done nothing for us except run crying into camp like the fraidy cat he is."

"He helped get the message through the few stubborn skulls about the savages," Ben reminded him. "They didn't attack us for nothing. Did you see those demons? They looked just like 'em."

As the conversation continued, Thomas' apathetic attention to it alerted him to the shadow he saw nearby. He glanced out of the corner of his eye, spotting John ducking into the shadows. Thomas got up and walked over carefully, not wanting John to see him.

As John slipped from camp, Thomas peered out at the entrance, watching where his friend was headed. His focus completely settled on John, only to have a rough shove to the outskirts snap him to refocus. He turned back to the entrance and gasped. Ratcliffe stood before him, looking firm.

"Follow him," Ratcliffe ordered. "I want to know where he's sneaking off to and what he is doing. He held up a gun, then threw it at Thomas, who caught it. "If you see any Indians, shoot them."

"Yes sir," Thomas replied quietly, turning to his task. Ratcliffe was not finished, however, as he spoke again.

"Thomas?" The soldier turned to face his governor. "Thus far, you have been a shoddy sailor and a poor excuse for a soldier. Do not disappoint me again."

With that, he turned away and returned to his tent. Thomas stepped quietly into the night, picking up the pace as he entered the forest to try and find John.

Atop the walkway on the wall, Sora watched the exchange and sighed. "Be careful, John," he muttered.

"Quit talking to yourself..." Pete muttered from about ten feet away. Sora glared at his foe, who lounged against the wall, barely awake.

Sora knew that the moment was soon. He said nothing, waiting a the fire was put out and the other men returned to their tents. Before long, the entire camp was quiet and Pete snoozed away. Silently counting his blessings about how easy it was to slip away, Sora hopped quietly over the wall, landing quietly on his feet. He walked off carefully, being sure not to wake anybody up.

* * *

Running into the clearing where Willow resided and climbing to the trunk as quickly as possible, Pocahontas didn't even need to wait for Willow to appear in the knot of the tree. The spirit of her grandmother was already wide awake, her eyes wide with awareness.

"The earth is trembling, child," she said. "What is wrong?"

"Everything is wrong," Pocahontas confessed. "War is coming and nobody is convinced that it can be stopped."

"Pocahontas!" From behind Willow, John quickly approached her. "My men are planning to attack your people. We've got to warn them."

"You must talk to my father at once!" Pocahontas urged, tugging John's hand. John stood firm, however.

"Talking will do no good," he informed. "Sora and I tried, but this land has my men spooked. It doesn't help that some of those Heartless that attacked camp earlier looked like your people."

"Heartless that looked like your people attacked my village today!" Pocahontas echoed. "Have they turned?"

"No," John promised. "It's Pete. Sora's met him before. He says Pete's the one controlling the Heartless, but Sora can't act Pete without the governor declaring him a traitor."

"Don't give up hope just yet," Willow warned, lowering one of her branches towards the water. "I want you to see something." She dipped the tip of her branch into the water, creating a few ripples that spread outward. "See? They start out small, but look at the way that they grow."

John watched patiently as the ripples faded. "And?" he inquired flatly.

"Someone has to start them," Willow reminded. "Unless that someone can be persuaded not to."

"They wouldn't listen," John decided dismally. "They both think the other side attacked with the Heartless. Now that they want to fight, nothing can stop them."

"John, sometimes the right path is not always the easy one," Willow said. "And though I don't doubt you would fight for what you desire..." As she spoke, she shifted her trunk to slide John down to the forest floor, where Pocahontas stood. "You must realize that only when the fighting stops can you two be together."

John looked down into Pocahontas' eyes and she looked up into his. A few moments passed and John reflected on what he had learned to see in those eyes. She had shown him what a so-called savage is like when one really learned to understand their way of life. If he'd never known her, he'd have gone on in life knowing only an inkling of how precious life could be.

That won him over. "All right," he gave in. "Let's talk to your father."

Pocahontas smiled widely, hugging him. "Oh John!" she cried happily. It took only another moment for their eyes to meet again. Grandmother Willow respectfully vanished, leaving them completely alone as their lips met passionately.

From one end of the area, Thomas pulled back a few branches to see his friend and mentor kissing an Indian. He was commanded to shoot on sight, but his mind couldn't comprehend the sight he was seeing. A part of him questioned if it was correct.

On the opposite side, Kocoum watched as well. He was breathing quietly, but heavily. The moonlight leaked through the trees above them, shining a circle of light around the two of them as they kissed. In that moment, it became all too clear to Kocoum. Pocahontas had been secretly wandering off and seeing one of the enemy. What's worse, Shakti had known about it, told no one, and though Shakti had been granted Pocahontas' hand over Kocoum, he had never intended to take it.

The jealous rage within Kocoum built up until Kocoum let his emotions loose the only way he knew how: with war cry.

"Ayiyiyiyiyiyao!" Kocoum cried, rushing into the clearing. Upon hearing the noise, Pocahontas and John broke apart, leaving John open for a tackle. Kocoum toppled John to the ground, then pulled a tomahawk from his waist and started chopping.

"Kocoum, no!" Pocahontas tried to approach the warrior. Before she could, John picked up a stick and deflected one of Kocoum's blows, proceeding to toss him away and get to his feet. Kocoum recovered quickly, pulling out a carved knife and lunging. John took hold of Kocoum's wrists, keeping him at bay. As the seconds ticked by, John felt the raw strength of the enraged warrior pushing him to the ground.

Thomas rushed from his hiding place, but kept his distance as he prepared his rifle for a shot. John only had seconds left, as Kocoum was bearing down on him with the knife.

"Leave him alone!" Pocahontas pleaded, grabbing at Kocoum's left shoulder, tugging him away. She wasn't strong enough, however. Kocoum shoved her away without a second thought and she rolled away. Without her distracting him, Kocoum used the force of both hands to push the knife towards Kocoum.

It was in this moment that Steven had rushed onto the scene. He could see what Kocoum was doing and made haste. With the knife mere inches away from John's neck, he barreled into Kocoum and used the momentum to haul him to his feet, away from John.

Kocoum staggered a bit, surprised at the sudden assault, but his strength gathered again as he saw who had gone against him. "_You_!" he growled. As he lunged at his fellow warrior, Sora had reached the outskirts and was witnessing the conflict.

Then Thomas lifted his gun, opening both eyes.

_BANG._

Kocoum seized up where he stood. In an instant, the rage-filled eyes had gone blank again. The life in him was fading and his strength had disappeared. He seemed to fall slowly when he crashed into the water below. He laid there, motionless.

Pocahontas, who had roused herself, gasped upon the sight of him. She crawled over to his side and peered down at his face.

Then Thomas emerged from where he was. The past few seconds had been a blur to him. Once the gun in his hand had sounded, he was snapped back into his senses. Looking down upon the lifeless body in the water, he gulped. "Is he...?"

Pocahontas turned to face Thomas. "You killed him," she confirmed, her face in anguish.

"I didn't mean..." Thomas was having a hard time finding his words. "I was only trying to-"

"Keep away from him!" Pocahontas lunged, but Steven and John held her back.

"Pocahontas, it won't do any good!" Steven reasoned.

"He killed him!" Pocahontas cried out again.

"Thomas!" John yelled. "Get out of here! Now!"

Not hesitating on John's words, Thomas took to the hills. At that moment, warriors from the tribe were heard crying out in the distance, closing in fast on the area. Sora knew they'd be confrontational, so he quickly started to run the opposite way. Though her consciousness had retreated for now, Willow seemed to sense Sora approaching, as the branches parted for him. He jumped in between them, landing on the trunk, then broke into a run after Thomas.

Steven took a mental note of Sora's safety, then rushed to John. "They're almost here, John. You have to trust me," he warned. "Don't ask. Just go with my lead." Without another warning, he grabbed John's wrists and forced them behind his back, leading him forward. "I got him!" he called up ahead, forcing John ahead. The warriors obeyed him and instead made their way to the pond. Together, they lifted Kocoum's body from the water and carried it back towards their camp.

Steven, ahead of the pack, whispered to John. "I'm really sorry, John. I didn't want any of this to happen."

"It's all right," John muttered back. He hunched over a bit, giving Steven the appearance of a true captor. He also walked with reisistance to sustain the illusion. "I've gotten out of worse scrapes than this. Can't remember any, but..." He paused for a moment, then asked. "Will I be alright?"

Steven kept walking, staring ahead in silence for a few moments. How could he answer that question for John? Fate had thrown one bout of bad luck after another at him, Sora, Pocahontas, and John. A tangled web of deceit had been woven and a war was approaching. With the impending threat arriving so soon, he had no ideas left of what could be done.

"I don't know, John," Steven answered. "I just don't know anymore."

As the warriors and Steven left, Pocahontas did not. She retreated into the branches of Willow's tree, climbing up to the stump. She sat on her knees and bowed her head. Quietly, tears fell from her eyes. Everything she had tried to accomplish had crumbled because of her relationship with John.

In her eyes, hope had been lost.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, everybody! Only about three months since my last chapter was posted. For how long my past few chapters have taken, that's a new record...makes me remember a time where I had no life and could write all the time...odd as this sounds, I sort of miss those times.  
In any case, thank you for continuing to read this story despite my rather long periods of absence. Even if the real KH3 is on its way in the next few years, I still plan to finish this story, so stick with it!  
**


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